


Reapers

by Jezmaiya (Im_Chamsae)



Series: An Ode to Kuroko Tetsuya [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Badass Kuroko Tetsuya, Dark Kuroko Tetsuya, Freeform - Death, Freeform - Grim Reaper, Kuroko Tetsuya-centric, Reapers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24806887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_Chamsae/pseuds/Jezmaiya
Summary: They move like shadows, taking on jobs as assassins, debt collectors or even the devil incarnation themselves. There were many names for them, but they preferred Reapers."Hello, Kuroko Tetsuya here. I've called to confirm that your request has been accepted. Please be on standby for the next 24 hours with your payment."Who said he was ever human?(Reaper AU).
Relationships: Haizaki Shougo & Kuroko Tetsuya, Kuroko Tetsuya & Seirin High Basketball Team Members
Series: An Ode to Kuroko Tetsuya [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766797
Comments: 40
Kudos: 148





	1. Hotline Death

**Author's Note:**

> Another old story from my FF.net, don’t mind me as I’m slowly moving my stuff over and editing along the way. 
> 
> Nothing major.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death is...

Voices of happiness and celebration chattered through the air as Seirin made their way back.

It had been less than an hour ago when they had defeated Kaijou at a practice match, a massive achievement for the team. As of currently, the team was deciding on what they wanted to eat.

It was small, but he felt it.

Kuroko Tetsuya slipped out of his pocket a black smartphone; his eyes briefly glanced at the message on the screen before locking the screen. "Ano... I have to go." He said, his blank teal eyes stared back at them, catching them all off guard.

Expressions of confusion etched across their faces, "but we're in Kansai." Hyuuga pointed out to the younger teen.

They were nowhere near Tokyo, or home.

Kuroko nodded, "Yes, but I have relatives nearby and there's been a small family emergency that I need to attend to." He informed them; his eyes flickered back to the cool smartphone screen pressed against his pale palm. There was another vibration.

After a moment of silence, Riko spoke up. "Okay, I guess we'll see you tomorrow then, Kuroko." If it was a family emergency, it was best not to keep his family waiting then. She let him go.

Kuroko nodded, politely bowing before he lightly jogged away from the group, running in the opposite direction.

They watched his running figure quickly disappear in the distance. "I didn't know Kuroko had family in these parts." Koganei commented.

"Well, we never asked him." Mitobe soundlessly said, translated through Koganei.

“Actually, I don’t think Kuroko really talks much about his family.” Added Koganei, thoughtfully. When he really thought about it, there was not much that they knew about their phantom sixth man.

Aside from his name, and where he went to middle school, what did they actually know about Kuroko Tetsuya?

"It's none of our business, it's best to just let him be." Hyuuga reminded them.

"I thought his phone was a light blue flip phone though." Kagami noted, slightly confused.

Izuki turned to stare at him, "What do you mean?"

"He was using a black smartphone; I haven't seen it in the market before."

* * *

His feet slowed as he halted in front the traditional Japanese styled building before him.

To any other tourist and visitor from elsewhere, it would have seemed like any other ordinary building along this street. But to locals, it was known as an itai hoteru, a 'corpse hotel'. It was a place where the dead truly rested in peace, waiting...

But to Kuroko, it was simply one of many places that he had become intimately familiar with.

He entered the building, immediately coming face to face with an elderly lady dressed in a black formal kimono.

The wrinkles on her face creased disapprovingly as she frowned at him, her lips began to part to reprimand him but she never got a single word out.

**_"I have come to pick up my cheque."_ **

Her lips smacked shut as her eyes widened slightly before she lowly bowed her head at him, her arm lifted as she gestured to the door on her left.

"Room 404." She managed to whisper.

Kuroko stared at her wordlessly before nodding politely. He soon made his way to the fourth room on the fourth floor.

Unlike the rest of the rooms that lined the corridor, the door of Room 404 was pure black. From first glance, it was clear that it lacked a handle to enter but he didn't need to open it.

His thumb moved to the button at the top of his smartphone, _click_. An electric jolt moved throughout his entire body but this didn't faze the teen at all. Instead, he simply took a step forward and phased through the door, and into a bustling street.

A gasp was heard from behind him, but it escaped his ears the moment he was fully immersed through the door.

"Madame! Madame!" The young girl cried as she entered the lobby of the itai hoteru. "A young boy, he just-"

"Don't speak child." The elderly woman whispered, lowly; her hands shook as her long thin fingers played with the prayer beads in her palm. She rocked herself back and forward, comforting herself in a way. "Don't say a word. Never tell anyone what you saw, if you do..." Her breath caught. "Then they will come for you." She advised her, warningly.

The girl gulped; she didn't understand.

She was confused, but at the same time stunned at what she had just witnessed. That boy just now... He had walked through a door, a solid door... _That door_.

Ever since she started working here a month ago, nobody had ever used that room.

Hell, there wasn't even a doorknob for that room to enter into it. In fact, the owners and managers of this itai hoteru seemed to avoid Room 404 at all cost. She didn't know why; she had thought that perhaps it was because the room number itself was a bad omen. But that boy... He did the impossible, it wasn't human... Unless, he wasn't human but that's ridiculous...

Right?

"What do you mean, Madame?"

**_"They move like shadows,_ **

Kuroko brushed away all his previous thoughts as he entered a bustling street, following the flow of the crowd in this little black and white world.

Tall black buildings decorated the sky of the nameless city, but he didn't mind, he was used to it. All around him, people walked. Their faces blank, their clothes black suits, dresses, formal wear of all sorts. He stood out like a sore thumb in his Seirin uniform, but it didn't bother him that much, he had been called in on an emergency.

**_taking on jobs as assassins,_ **

He soon spotted his building and navigated with ease before he walking through the main lobby. Similarly, to the street, he followed the crowd to the elevator and stepped on board. He nodded at the doorman; the doorman nodded back at him.

**_debt collectors..._ **

Floor 11.

He got off the elevator and entered a white hallway with a single black door. A black name plate hung alone by its side, beneath it, a keypad. Kuroko brandished his smart phone, he slid it into the keypad as he pushed his office door open.

He entered into a room where black office furnishing sat, a single dull white light shone down at his desk. He dropped his basketball bag to the ground as he moved towards his fax machine. He could see that during the time had been gone, he had two new faxes.

Kuroko read the contents of the paper before nodding to himself. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialled, "Hello, Kuroko Tetsuya here. I've called to confirm that your request has been accepted. Please be on standby for the next 24 hours with your payment." With that he hung up. Despite his blank expression, he was amused. 'This job will be easy.'

As he put down the phone, his Seirin uniform was gone, in its place was a sleek three-piece black suit. Kuroko hummed softly to himself as he picked up his briefcase from beneath his desk. He unfastened its lock, opening it to reveal a single black bowler hat and gun.

**_or even the devil incarnation themselves._ **

As he walked away from his desk, his shadow followed but it wasn't a suitcase in his hand nor a hat on his head. No, some would describe it as a forked tail and horns... Others, a hood and a death scythe. It varied depending on how you looked at it.

**_There were many names for them, but they preferred Reapers."_ **

Kuroko shut his office door before sliding out his smartphone from its slot, he checked the fax documents once more before dialling the address into the map on his smartphone. When he was done, he didn't remove it from his keypad. Instead, he pushed it back in. Once satisfied with the action, he knocked on the new black door that has phased over his own office door.

There was a silence before it was opened from the other side. A man answered it, he looked relatively confused as he stared outside at empty thin air. There was nobody.

Or so he thought.

The teal haired teen smiled softly as he lifted his hat politely, appearing before the man, startling him.

The man screamed as he fell backwards, widening the black door to reveal more people inside. They all stopped what they had been doing.

"Hello there, my name is Kuroko Tetsuya, and I believe that I have an appointment with well... All of you," he said, walking into what he could only assume was Ishiyama Shipping Warehouse. "I have come to collect your souls; now would you be so kind... **And give them to me?"**

His smile turned feral.

* * *

The young woman felt her body shake, "So he's not human?" She asked, terrified.

"He never was."

* * *

They had reacted rather negatively. Instead of politely doing as he asked, they had taken their guns out and began to shoot at him.

He can't say that he was surprised in the least; they didn't seem like the friendliest people he had to collect from. "Tsk," sighed Kuroko, he dropped his hat back onto his head, vanishing from the human eye. They couldn't see him, but he sure as hell could see them. "It always comes down to this." He pulled as his black gloves before refilling his gun with bullets.

The men had huddled into a circle, their backs facing to each other.

Kuroko smirked; they had just made his job a whole lot easier. "Goodbye sitting ducks." He held out the gun, and took his aim.

* * *

"So, he's Death?" Her voice had gone deadly low as the conversation progressed. She was petrified at this discovery. She didn't want to die; she was too young to die.

The elderly woman let out a grim laugh, she shook her head. "That's the scary thing my dear, there's more than one of them... There's a world of Reapers out there, and we don't know when they'll come to get you."

* * *

Kuroko looked back down at the fax in his hands, the blood on his gloves made it difficult of a task to read all the names off this list he was faxed. After confirming he had got all his targets, he nodded to himself and left the warehouse. He passed through the door to enter his empty hallway again. Shutting the door, he reopened it to find his office.

He removed his gloves before tossing them. 'Now the report,' he sat at his desk and loaded up his computer.

He sat patiently in silence as his ancient box of a computer loaded. He didn't understand the high ups... They had upgraded the phones but left behind the ancient computers... Then again, he didn't really understand his existence at all... After all, he didn't really know himself how he came to be what he was right now - a Reaper.

When the machine before him was fully functional, he got to work filling up the form and paperwork. When he was done, he picked up his phone, and dialled the same number once more.

"The deed is done, your payment is due in 23 years, 3 months and 45 days when you die from a freak accident in your Shibuya apartment. You will die alone, in regret and in a lot of pain, but do not worry... I will come and relieve you by reaping your soul in return for reaping the 43 men you had me dispose of for you. Good day Sir, and goodbye." That was done.

Kuroko nodded to himself as he put his hat and briefcase away, stowing in beneath his desk once more. After that, he left his desk, his suit melting away to reveal his black and white Seirin basketball uniform once again. He picked up his basketball bag before plucking out the smartphone from the keypad. His thumb found the button as he clicked it, a similar jolt of electricity jerked through him before he walked through the black door.

He soon found himself back in Tokyo, in the itai hoteru that he normally used to enter the Reaper realm. He made his way to the exit, bowing politely at the man at the main desk. The man bowed back, not even batting a eye to the blue haired teen’s suddenly departure.

It was time to get back to his human life.

"Kuroko?" He glanced back to see none other than Kagami. "So, you're back?" The red head look incredibly confused.

"Yes, everything is done and dealt with." Red eyes stared at the itai hoteru that Kuroko had just exited. "My relative owns this building." The little white lie had appeared to clear up any confusion in Kagami's brain as the teen nodded. "Are you headed to Maji Burger?" Asked Kuroko, he had every intention to get away from this place as soon as possible.

Kagami nodded, "We had steak in the end but I'm still a bit hungry so I thought I'd go grab more food."

"You pig." Stated Kuroko bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Exclaimed Kagami in response.

As Kuroko began to walk, Kagami followed in suit. "Only Kagami-kun can eat so much." He sighed. As Kagami ranted off his response, the phantom muted him out, his eyes looking back at the itai hoteru as it got smaller and smaller off in the distance.

'Goodbye... For now.'


	2. Living History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A target is hit. One that is a little too close to home for Kuroko's comfort.

Their match was soon, but there was evidently something holding Seirin back from being able to play at full force. It was Kagami's atrocious grades.

"How stupid can you be?" Exclaimed Hyuuga in absolute rage as he clasped his hair in his palms and pulled at it. "It's so simple, everything is right here in front of you on the page. Read the kanji!" He insisted, forcefully shoving the Japanese History book into the team's ace once more. He paused for a moment; a sudden thought had just occurred to him. His fingers began shaking as he back away, staring at Kagami grimly. "Please tell me you can read kanji...."

"Of course, I can!" Retaliated Kagami, offended by the accusation.

"They why can't you understand these basics! Just memorise these dates and names!" Roared Hyuuga back at him.

Kuroko sat beside Kagami, amused by the scene as he sat silently with his own history book open in front of him. He didn't really need to study Japanese History, after all, he did consider himself a living piece Japanese History, one that's has adapted and evolved to fit in with the modern age.

"Kagami-kun is even stupider than we originally thought he was." Deadpanned Kuroko, his eyes flickering to lightly scan over his book as he ignored the red head's fierce glare sent his way.

Riko sighed, they were getting nowhere no matter how hard they tried. "Izuki, teach him the next subject. Let's just move on from Japanese History." She instructed.

Everyone agreed, except Hyuuga whose protest were immediately silenced with a glare from Riko.

Kagami let out a sigh of relief, his hands moving to shut the book, but as the pages of the book closed, something couldn't help but catch his eyes. He placed a finger in between the closing pages before flipping it wide open. Red eyes widened as he looked at the traditional in the textbook, more specifically, a specific face in the background of the picture.

He stared at the entitled chapter, 'Death in Feudal Japan'.

The man in the painting wasn't as visible as the people in front of him, who made up a majority of the entire painting, but he could still make out an undeniable blank expression. Not to mention that there was unmistakeable light blue teal hue paint that had been used to represent the person's eyes and hair.

"Hey Kuroko, that guy in the painting looks like you." He nudged his friend beside him.

His lightly blue eyes glanced over at the painting, he shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous, Kagami-kun, that looks nothing like me." He reaffirmed.

His pale slender fingers flipped to the very same page in the textbook. His eyes darkened briefly as he ran his fingers across the page, creasing over the painting. His fingers slowed as they smudged over the face of the person Kagami had pointed out before he shut the book.

"No really," Said Kagami, he pointed back to the person in the painting, his loud voice grabbing the attention of everyone else there. "This person really looks... Like you?" Double eye brows creased in confusion as he stared back at the person he initially had pointed to. A black bowl hair cut with a top-knot and dark brown eyes... The person he had initially seen was gone.

"I'm affronted that you think that I have a top-knot." Stated Kuroko, his monotonous tone giving nothing away.

Hyuuga shook his head, "he's stupider than we thought if he thinks that looks anything like Kuroko at all." Muttered the bespectacled man.

Kagami shook his head, "no I swear that the picture wasn't like this." He grabbed Kuroko's book and flipped to the same page; the same painting was printed into the book. No teal haired person. "What?"

Kuroko shook his head at his friend’s antics, "perhaps we should all take a break." He inputted. His suggestion seemed to receive collective nods of agreements. He stood up, stretching his legs before disappearing outside for a breather.

That had been mildly surprising.

He hadn't expected anyone to have spotted him so easily. After all, the scene of the overall painting had never been so appealing to begin with. If memory served him right, it was a painting of what was considered as 'surgery' during those times, and was overall morbid in general. Those times had definitely been much busier than now, but then again, his job had been a bit different back then.

He chuckled; he could still remember the scene after the painting like it was just yesterday.

_"Alright," the painter spoke, nodding. "I am done. I shall leave you doctors to continue your operation. Thank you so much for allowing me to paint this fine moment." The man packed up his items and soon left the room, bowing as he did so._

_As soon as he the painter had departed, the seriousness in the atmosphere instantly evaporated from the room. Stern faces that had worn formal expressions dissipated into half-hearted ones as the men in the room laughed. "Has he left the estate?" Asked one, he glanced to where another man had gotten up and opened the sliding door._

_He took a peek outside, quickly watching as the shadow of the artist disappeared through the front gates of the estate. "The fool has just left." He informed the rest. "What a fool that man is, the patient has already been dead for hours." They laughed boisterously._

_"Well he does not need to know that. After all, we are the only medics in this place." They laughed once more. "Fuji, dispose of the body when you are done playing with it." Said the main medic. He was a rather plump man, a top-knot adorned his head as he glanced over to the younger man who was the only one who remained wearing a cloth around his mouth._

_Unlike the others who had previously been posing around be body, this man remained by the corpse’s side, his tools deeply exploring the depths of the body._

_"Of course, sir. Enjoy your night out." With that the men left him to his own devices. "Let's see what else I can do~" His hands moved once more._

_A few moments later he swore. The man let out a string of curses as he looked over the body on the mat before him, another_ _one gone wrong._

_"Apprentice," shouted the doctor, he didn't even bother to look over his shoulder. "Bring me a white cloth, I need to dispose of this body before it begins to decompose." He grumbled and tossed his tools into the bucket by his side._

_His apprentice appeared, the requested cloth in hand. "Yes, Master," the young teen said. He began to wrap the body up, making sure to go over every nook and crook various times, layering the corpse. His careful eyes flickered to the doctor, a brush in his fingers as he began writing on a scroll, covering up his actions. "So, the patient died on the operating table?"_

_"Do not be fooled, young Tetsuya," said the doctor, he never looked back at his apprentice. "This patient had already died from the main medic's inability to treat him. It is unfortunate."_

_His apprentice stared blankly down at the body. "Shall I presume that it was not due to his inability in skill that had caused the main medic failed to treat him, but instead it was his intention from the start to leave the patient for death to collect, which is also known as indirect manslaughter?"_

_Fuji shrugged as he waited for the ink to dry. "You happened to be talking quite a lot today, **apprentice** ," he emphasised the last word to remind him of just who was in charge here. "What the main medic does is not my concern as long as I receive bodies to carry out my experiments on."_

_"The mutilation of the dead is a crime punishable by death, Master."_

_Fuji stared at the wall in front of him, the candle that he had lit dimmed. "And who will you report me too? Nobody will believe the word of an **apprentice** over a **master**." He snidely reminded the younger teen. _

_Suddenly, the candle blew up as its flames burst out, reaching for him. Fuji fell back in shock._

_He watched as the shadow of the flame grew to form a person. As the shadow continued to evolve before his very own eyes, he watched in mortified silence as it spawned a hood on its head, in its palm the shadow held a death scythe. He heard the wooden planks of the floor creak as the sounds of footsteps came closer and closer to him, yet he couldn't find the strength to tear his eyes away from the growing shadow._

_"No, I think I shall inform Death-sama," came the voice of his apprentice as Tetsuya stared down at his face from above. "Oh wait," whispered the teen, a thoughtful look on his face for a moment as he titled his head to one side. Fuji gulped as he spotted the bloodied surgical knife that he held between his pale bandaged fingers._

**_"I am Death-sama."_ **

_His eyes darkened._

_"You reap what you sow, **Master.** "_

_Fuji screamed._

That night sure had been an eventful one.

Kuroko shook his head; those medical crooks had gotten the judgement they deserved. Their failure to heal the poor had led to a mass number of deaths. Because of them, there was an influx of souls that had to be reaped in such a short amount of time.

However, as the times have changed, the role of reapers had evolved as well to separate into various categories now.

Instead of reaping the souls of those that had done wrong, Kuroko Tetsuya now found himself apart of the request section where he only reaped the souls of the requested immediately, and the soul of requestor, but only after natural death. After all, those who sentence people to death deserve the very same faith.

As he pondered, he felt it again. A vibration from his smartphone.

Another fax, another request.

'Generations may pass, but the thirst of power will never die away.' He silently mused as he returned to Coach's room to excuse himself from their study session.

* * *

He arrived at his office, staring at the paper that rested in his fax machine. He flipped it over and read the contents, 'Haizaki Shou...'

Teal blue eyes narrowed as he scrutinised at the familiar name.

He knew of a Haizaki, but not fond or pleasant things ever came up when he thought of the person he associated with that name. 'Perhaps they have no relation.' Thought Kuroko, he placed the fax down as he began to load up his computer.

Loading the human database, Kuroko typed in the name as all life information about the subject loaded onto the screen from his date of birth, where he was born, where he studied and any other information of importance. 'I guess I was wrong, he's Haizaki-san's older brother. His gangster older brother.' He scrolled down screen as he went to read on about the man's recent activities.

He had recently carried out various murders of those indebted to him, not to mention the amount of corruption that was linked to him. He ran a drug trafficking ring and used to act as a pimp.

Kuroko stared at the fax request on his tables, drumming his fingers lightly against the surface. "It seems like a reasonable enough request." Noted Kuroko, turning to his desk phone as he picked it up and dialled the number of the requestor.

 _"Hello,"_ answered a shaky, hesitant voice from the other end of the phone line. _"Who is this?"_

He took in a deep breath before replying. "Hello, Kuroko Tetsuya here. I've called to confirm that your request has been accepted. Please be on standby for the next 24 hours with your payment." With that, he hung up the phone.

Kuroko rose from his desk, his Seirin school uniform melting away to reveal his finely threaded suit. He paused for a moment; his eyes shut closed as he careful thought about what he was going to do.

In most cases, he would just go and get the request over, and done with as soon as possible...

However, he had to be extra careful with this case. The person in question held a connection to somebody that was linked to his civilian identity, and he not could risk anybody connecting him back to the death. Especially not when Haizaki Shougo was his little brother.

Kuroko sighed, grabbing his briefcase as he placed his hat on. "This will just have to never come off." Mused the teal haired reaper, he readjusted his accessory. There was beep on the black smartphone as the coordinates of Hazaki Shou's location was downloaded. "Time to deliver..."

He took a deep breath as his eyes darkened; he felt his humanity drip away from him as he exited his office, his gun in hand. His grip never once softened. As usual, he dialled in the address of the location and scanned it into the keypad.

Taking a step back, Kuroko knocked.

The noise that had initially been bursting from the other side of the door immediately silenced. No noise was heard from the other side before an older man opened the door, he poked his head through as he took a look around. Kuroko stood still, his gaze stared blankly at the man, more specifically – the gun he held in his hand.

"Tsk," muttered the man. "Damn brats must have rung the doorbell again." He swore, scratching his chin, his hand placed back on the door as he began to shut it close.

'Now.' With one swift move he pulled the trigger of his own gun.

The noise rang out loud and clear to him as the impact of the shot sent Haizaki Shou's body flying backwards. The bullet buried deep in his skull from the short distance between them.

The reaper moved forward to shut the man’s door before he reopened it to once again find himself in his office once more.

'Safe.' He felt a weight of the world lift off his shoulder as he sat down and leaned back in his chair. He had made it, good.

Now was the next part.

He sat back up, removing his hat as he ruffled his messy blue hair before he smoothening it out. He picked up his office phone to call the client.

As he dialled, his other free hand searched the human database as he looked up the client's life chart. His eyes brightened slightly.

 _“Hello?”_ Asked the same voice from before, a hint of nervousness in its tone.

"The deed is done. Your payment is due tonight at 11.57pm when you die in your sleep from cardiac arrest. How unfortunate for you, but your death has already been set in stone."

 _"...are you threatening me?"_ The other line sneered. _"Do you know who I am? I can kill you tonight."_ Kuroko raised an amused brow at the man’s claims. And to think that only a few seconds ago, he had been as alarmed as a baby lamb. _"Besides, I hired you to kill him, not me. Now never talk to me again."_

"I won't have to; your poor lifestyle will catch up to you tonight when your heart fails." Kuroko sniped back, he moved to hang up.

 _"Wait..."_ The man called out, suddenly in panic. He paused. _"Why do I have to die?"_

Kuroko chuckled; they all asked this question. Wasn't the answer obvious to them?

"It's the circle of life. Sentencing another person to death through our services deserves a sentence of death as well, but that will be collected at a later date when you die of natural causes." He told him. "One death, two souls ensured to suffer in depths of Hell. Rather fair, do you not think so?" He mused.

There was silence before the person spoke, _"you won't get away with this, **Kuroko Tetsuya**."_ The man emphasised on his name as he stated his threat.

‘Please.’

Kuroko shook his head, they never learned. It was a natural death, he didn't control when they died, he just came and collected. "That's rich coming from you, Kagura Shino." He ended the conversation at last, putting down the phone.

He glanced at the clock, now all he needed to do was wait.

* * *

He froze in his footsteps, "what did you say?" The teen snarled. "What did you just say? Can you say it again?"

The man in front of him gulped in fear, before coughing into his fist. "I said your brother is dead," the teen punched the wall beside him, causing the man to jump up in fright. "He was found murdered in his apartment yesterday afternoon." He squeaked the last part out.

Haizaki Shougo growled, "Kagura Shino, you're dead." He cursed.

The man coughed, "I'm afraid Mr. Kagura Shino died of a cardiac arrest last night."

"What?"

"He's dead too."


	3. A Walking Target

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One little loose end leads to one big, bad problem.

"He's dead too."

Haizaki Shougo stared silently at the guy before him, one of his big brother's many underworld underlings.

"One of our guys broke into his place to kill him out of vengeance but they found the guy dead in his bed. Man, he bolted out of there as soon as possible – you know, to avoid getting caught and blamed, and all. After it got reported, one of our insiders in the Coroner's office told us that it was from a cardiac arrest, apparently. The guy's life finally caught up to him; the fat slob got what he fucking deserved. So, it couldn't have been him." The man told him, smugly. Each word tumbling out of his mouth in a crude like manner.

Haizaki sneered, he couldn't believe that this guy actually had the balls to look satisfied with his findings. Or rather, a lack of it. He couldn't believe how stupid these guys were, no wonder his big brother had easily become the number one man in his group, the rest of them didn't even think or use their brains properly. They had just taken the facts at a face value, not even bothered to investigate further past the surface and look more closely into the details.

"Did any of you even bother think about the time difference between the two deaths?" Exclaimed Haizaki.

The man didn't respond. Instead, he scrunched his brows together looking rather confused.

'Do I have to spell everything out to them?' God, kill him now. "Shou-ni was killed in the afternoon, and Kagura at night. Kagura could have sent someone to kill Shou-ni, and then later kicked the bucket himself." He pointed out, slowing his tone down as he attempted to enlighten the older man before him. "Did you even think about looking for any signs that showed he killed Shou?"

As if finally catching on, a thoughtful expression crossed the man’s face.

"Oh. We didn't think about that."

"So, you idiots didn't even think about looking for clues." Snapped Haizaki, scowling at him. "How stupid are you guys?" He barked, loudly. His anger seeping in as he glared at him.

The man flinched; he could see the resemblance even more clearly now between the two Haizaki brothers. They were both pretty damn fierce and downright terrifying when they needed to be. "Well, you know, Yui had to get out of there as soon as possible, he has a record after all. Hell, we all have a record with the fuzz and we can't get caught." Cried the guy, throwing his hands up in the air defeatedly. "If you want to go and look for evidence, you're welcome to do it yourself because you sure as hell won’t find us doing it."

And that was how the younger Haizaki found himself spending that evening crawling through a dead man's air vent.

The dark-haired teen scowled as he slid himself out of the small gap opening before dropping onto his feet as he landed on a red carpeted floor. ‘Useless assholes. They could easily think of a way to break into a place like this but they couldn’t even think about looking for clues.’

He dusted his jacket with his hands as he let his eyes roam, taking a good look around at the place. From what he could see, it looks like it hadn't been too long since someone had been in here. 'Probably someone who was next in line to inherit and succeed Kagura's dirty business.' Haizaki muttered internally as he moved to locate the main light switch, flipping it on.

With better lighting, he could see the room more clearly. The office was lavish; glass cases filled with imported liquor from aboard, lined each corner of the office. A large wooden mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room, above it hung a crystal chandelier. Everything in this room just shouted luxury, it was all evidence that Kagura had lived a pampered life amoungst his illegal dealings.

'Some assholes just get it all.' And it pissed him off to see that that man had lived like a King, especially when people like his brother were just barely scrapping by sometimes. 'But in the end, death got the last laugh.'

Aside from the clear display of wealth, he didn't spot anything odd in his office.

According to Shou's inside sources, this was a the very last place Kagura had been before he died at home. It was reported that Kagura had apparently been angry earlier on, his secretary swore that she heard him barking back at his phone on a call. Apparently, somebody had threatened to kill him. Well, if there was any evidence to back up her claims, it wasn't here, and they hadn’t managed to get a hold of his call log either.

Haizaki moved around the desk to look at the dead man’s computer. Perhaps there would be clues to what the hell the man was up to before his destined demise. But nothing.

The damned machine wouldn't even switch on for him. The teen grumbled out in frustration, tempted to destroy the damn thing, but he couldn't. This was still technically a crime scene, well one that was getting dismissed soon since the Coroner’s report had determined that Kagura had not been murdered despite his secretary’s claims.

'Well at least until tomorrow when whoever Kagura sired with a whore comes over to claim it as theirs.' He took a moment to twirl in the man's leather chair, glancing casually at the letters and notes littered on the surface of his desk.

'Junk... Wait a minute.' He froze, as he stared at the small note pad barely visible on the desk.

It was hidden beneath a pile of opened letters but there was a name on it, one very familiar to him.

"Kuroko Tetsuya." Beneath the teen's name, Kagura had written the word 'Reaper'.

* * *

They had managed to successfully win their first Interhigh match, even if they had initially been intimidated by Shinkyo Academy's tall exchange student, Papa, they managed to overcome that obstacle. Nevertheless, something didn't sit right with him right now.

He didn’t know what, but… 'Something feels off.' Kuroko Tetsuya couldn't help but feel tense, his whole body was on edge. His teal eyes were blank yet sharp as he surveyed his surroundings closely, there was a gaze on him. One that was lingering much too long on him to just be a brief passing.

Finally, he found it.

His eyes widened for a brief moment, but with years of control, he managed to look indifferent overall. 'Haizaki...' The other teen stood off to the side, hiding amongst the shadows but Kuroko knew he was there, and from the intense gaze the teen had focusing on him right now, Haizaki must be here to see him.

"Ano, I'm sorry but I have to go again." Kuroko spoke up, the flutter of chatter that had previously been going around amongst the Seirin group immediately died down.

"Oh, is it something to do with your relatives again?" Asked Hyuuga, recalling that the blue haired teen had to also previously leave for a similar reason as well.

Kuroko nodded, "yes, they asked me to help them out once more." Before they could prod further, he bowed his head down respectfully before quickly taking his leave.

He had a feeling that whatever it was Haizaki wanted from him, it would be very quickly become messy. 'But the real question is... How much does he actually know about last night?' His eyes narrowed as he walked along the path leading up to where Haizaki leaned against the wall, waiting.

"Kuroko." The teen spoke, his eyes never once looking away from his teal blue ones.

"Hello Haizaki, what a surprise to see you here. Was your school playing today?" Questioned Kuroko, politely.

But with the single swoop of a fist, one that landed right next to his head, it was clear that all politeness and civility was thrown out the window.

With his one punch, he had successfully backed Kuroko into the wall as Haizaki stared him down with a fierce scowl. "Cut the bullshit, Kuroko," he grabbed the teal teen's collar, pulling him up towards him. "You know something about Shou-ni's death, now spill it before I spill your guts." Hissed Haizaki, his grip tightening.

Kuroko shook his head, or at least attempted to, "I don't know what you're talking about." He dismissively told him.

“Wrong answer.” Snarled Haizaki, his hands moving to clench Kuroko's neck, startling the smaller teen at the sudden development as he began to squeeze. "Stop lying to me Kuroko, I know that you know something." He spat out angrily. "Kagura had your name written down on a piece of paper on his desk, calling you something like ‘Reaper’. Now you’re going to tell me everything you know or you'll be dead very shortly."

He struggled to breath, feeling an imminent strain at his windpipes as he winced from the pain, but he refused to give in.

"Hey you! Let that young boy go!"

Haizaki swore beneath his breath as he spotted a patrolling police officer coming towards him at a rapid pace. Making the decision to get out of there as soon as possible, he tossed Kuroko aside as the smaller teen landed on the ground, gasping desperately for air. With one final glance, Haizaki tsked, he had been so close too.

Kuroko felt his lungs burn as he watched Haizaki rapidly disappear from his vision, but the other teen's words rang loud and clear. 'Damn that Kagura...' He swore in his mind, even in death the man was still causing trouble for people. 'I've got to tie up the loose ends, and soon, before Haizaki figures out anything else more damaging.'

* * *

Later that night, Kuroko found himself once more in Kagura's den but this time, he was determined to leave nothing behind. 'Everything's got to go.' He switched on the gas for the heating, but not before puncturing a hole in the pipes to let it leak into the dead man’s office.

His eyes narrowed as he stared glaringly at the damned notepad with his name on it. One little note, and already it has opened up a world of problems for him. 'His soul will suffer in hell for this.'

With a strike of a match, he let the place blow and go up in a flurry of flames.

* * *

  
"Reapers, huh?"

On the lit screen before the person, multiple internet accounts of first hand witness testimonies claiming to have seen black suited people were splayed across the dash board. Each detailing an encounter, or at least an experience that they had heard of. But if there was one thing that they all held in common, it was that they were sure that it had something to do with a string of sudden deaths. Deaths that had all been dismissed by the police.

"How interesting..." The person grinned, looking down at the scene photo of Kagura’s office desk. “Kuroko Tetsuya, huh?”

With a click, the screen changed to feature one Kuroko Tetsuya’s Seirin student profile. However, his student profile photograph remained blank and empty.

“What an enigma.”


	4. Stalemate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A temporary solution.

Throughout the entirety of his rather peculiar existence, he seldom passed out compliments to humans that he were not particularly fond off. But Kuroko had to commend the teen; he was rather a stubborn one.

It was _almost_ praiseworthy how determined Haizaki was to watch and tail his every movement since their last encounter. Now, if only the teen could put this much effort into more useful things (such as getting an actual education) then perhaps he could have amounted to become something more than a useless waste of space.

Spotting the young man that was walking towards him, Kuroko spoke, “Excuse me,”

At the suddenly sound of a voice, the passing mathematics teacher let out a startled shriek as he clasped his hand frantically to his beating chest. His widened brown eyes took a moment to process the presence of the impassive teal haired student, whom he could have sworn was not there before. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the man would have to admit that he did not recognise him.

“Yes?” He inquired, unsurely.

With a single pale finger, Kuroko pointed back to the hallway window. “There’s a strange man with a metal bat standing outside the school entrance who has been there since this morning.” Stated the teen, bluntly. “He looks rather shady and dangerous from the way he’s been looking at the school, as if he might be waiting to harm someone – perhaps a student.”

“What?” Spluttered the man, whose eyes instantly followed the pointed direction of the finger. Immediately he spotted the stranger, and he felt his face pale slightly. This boy was right, that person did look like he might potentially cause some serious trouble for the school. “I’ll inform the security guards immediately,” he said before turning back to face Kuroko. “Thank you…” Only to find air. The words died away in his throat as he found the teen gone.

Glancing around, he did not see him.

“Miyaki-sensei, who are you speaking to?” questioned another fellow passing student.

“… there was a boy.”

“Eh?” exclaimed the girl. “But you’ve been standing here all by yourself this entire time.”

“…”

Slowly, but surely, he began to question his sanity.

* * *

From the stairway at the end of the hallway, Kuroko took calm steps in his stride as his fingers moved, speedily typing away on the black mobile device in his hands.

 _‘Hello.’_ He began.

 **‘Yes?’** The response came quick, immediately followed by another, **‘¬^_^’¬’**.

Ignoring the second response, he continued. _‘I need your help.’_

It took a moment before he received a reply, **‘…’** Which was instantly trailed by, **‘Ohohoho’** Despite his expressionless face, he was already regretting this. **‘Now, what does Mr. Bigshot-Superstar-Reaper need help with?’**

It was no secret amoungst Reapers that certain individuals were held in a higher regard than others. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they were simply more successful in executing and securing their requests, or maybe it was because they had been reaping souls for a much longer period of time.

In Kuroko’s case, it was both.

He was old, that was a fact. And unlike most Reapers that sometimes coordinated and worked in teams on requests or cases, he worked alone. In his opinion, working alone was a quicker and more efficient method when it came to this line of business, and the results he constantly produced purely proved that.

However, with his current circumstance, Kuroko knew that it was unlikely that he would be able to return to the itai hoteru anytime soon without Haizaki causing a scene; one that would draw much unwanted attention – not only for him, but the itai hoteru as well. And such a disturbance would be a great disrespect to the dead resting within.

Swallowing his pride, he knew he had to begrudgingly reach out and do the one thing he knew he had (but hated) to do. And that was ask for help. Even if he really hated the person he had to ask.

_‘I’m being tailed.’_

**‘So?’**

He dismissed the nonchalant attitude and continued, _‘I need you to do my share.’_

**’70/30’**

His brows furrowed at the unreasonable amount. But he wouldn’t expect anything less from this cheeky bastard. _‘50/50.’_

**‘But you have so much more work than me!!! T.T’**

Kuroko could practically hear the whining voice behind the message.

Of course, it was more work. It was practically a given that the higher a Reaper was ranked, the heavier their workload would be. But it was expected, because most highly ranked Reapers often worked and reaped souls at a faster rate compared to lower ranked Reapers. Within a week, they could easily have completed three times of more cases than the average.

Honestly, Kuroko felt that he should have been a little more grateful for this offer. It was not often an opportunity to gain more souls would come along so easily like this – he was practically handing over a goldmine of requests to him.

 _‘Then wouldn’t that mean you would still be getting a decent amount of souls?_ ’

**‘Fine’**

With that settled, Kuroko sent a quick email to RR (Reaper Resources) to inform them of their current arrangement, and that all of Kuroko’s following requests would be reassigned to his fellow Reaper instead. Within seconds, a small blue screen appeared on his phone – a notification of approval from RR.

Glad to have that established, he sent his fellow Reaper a small message as a sign of gratitude. _‘Thank you.’_

His response came quick, **‘Hurry up and lose the guy, or better yet. Just kill ‘em!!! XD’**

At that, Kuroko’s mood soured.

_‘No.’_

It was not exactly against any rules or laws to kill a person who interfered in a case. In fact, a majority of Reapers wouldn’t hesitate to end a life if they so choose to do so. He, himself was not an exception and was guilty of having taken a life or few in the past. However, he had refrained from doing so in recent times.

If they were not a requested hit, he would not reap them.

After all, he had seen the devastating results of impulsive killing, and the wreckage that remained behind if left uncontrolled. He had watched with his own two eyes exactly what happened when you took an innocent life of somebody who just happened to be there at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

It wasn’t just their life you ended, but the lives of those around them too.

**‘You’re no fun, _Tet-su-ya XP_ ’**

His eyes narrowed, _‘No names in the field.’_ He knew he was just being petty now.

 **‘Boring.’** Followed by, **‘did you get senile with old age?’**

He did not even bother to reply that. He didn’t have to as he could hear the steps of a taller individual descending from the floor above him. He recognised them.

“There you are – woah,” said Kagami, who had appeared from around the corner of the staircase. The red head froze in his steps, noticing the irritated air around his fellow teammate. “You alright there?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be, Kagami-kun?” replied Kuroko, curtly.

The tall red headed hesitated for a moment, “well um,” Kuroko raised a brow. “You look kind of mad.” Confessed Kagami, unsure of how his friend would take it.

Kuroko remained impassive. An awkward silence settling between the two as emotionless teal blue eyes stared back at red orbs.

Kagami flinched uncomfortably, ‘Shit.’ Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything.

“I think all that studying has gotten to your brain; you’re starting to sound very delusional, Kagami-kun.”

“Hey!”

“Now, is there a reason why you were looking for me?” asked Kuroko, easily steering the conversation towards one that he was more comfortable with.

“I just came to check up on you.” Replied Kagami, honestly, “one of the girls in the upper year spotted that bastard Haizaki outside the school gate. So, Coach sent me to come and check up on you since… you know,” he sent him a knowing look. “After what happened the last time that we left you alone.”

‘Ah.’

It hadn’t taken long before word had got out and reached the Seirin basketball team about his little unfortunate encounter with Haizaki after their Interhigh match. Not to mention that the location of the bruises that he had attempted to cover up were incredibly indicative to Coach about the events of the previous night, which had first led to massive grilling from her and rest of the team about the attack. Luckily, he was able to convince his Coach and the rest of the team not to report Haizaki to the Interhigh association because he was already filing a formal police report, one that would remain on his record for the rest of his life.

Now, he could have easily covered up his bruises, or even healed them. However, the police officer that had assisted him had requested his presence in the local district station the following day in order to file a formal report of the incident. Hence why, Kuroko had no choice but to leave them there on his flesh, and attend school first before making the report. Unfortunately, he had not accounted for the overreaction that was to follow.

But it was nice, it was nice to see that his team was so protective of him. And even if Kagami didn’t like to show it, it was evidently clear that he was looking out for him.

Like now for example.

“I see.” Said Kuroko. “Well, I’m perfectly fine, Kagami-kun.” He assured him. “Thank you though for the concerns.”

“Be careful though, Kuroko.” Kagami warned him. “The school already sent out security guards to get rid of him but he might come back and try to jump you again later.”

He was grateful for his friend’s concerns, but really, they were unnecessary. Kuroko was certain that he had this situation completely under control.

“I’ll be fine, Kagami-kun.”

* * *

School, basketball practice, occasionally the odd Maji Burger trip for a vanilla milkshake and then home.

Kuroko Tetsuya was a creature of habit – an incredibly boring one at that.

For over a week now, he had kept his eyes on the teal haired enigma out of suspicions that his former Teiko teammate was somehow involved in the murder of his older brother. Sure, it was a little odd to wrap his mind around, especially since the kid looked like he couldn’t even hurt a damn fly but he was a man who trusted his instincts. And his gut was telling him that Kuroko was involved, one way or another, and his gut was never wrong.

When he really thought about it, how much did he actually know about Kuroko Tetsuya?

Aside for the fact that he was the Phantom (more like Invisible) man of the Generation of Miracles, he didn’t actually know anything else about him. He had thought that maybe by observing him these past few days (and not impulsively attacking him like he had done so in the past) he could learn a thing or two about the places he went to, or the people he met with. Maybe uncover a few secrets or hidden connections to his brother or Kaguya, but so far, nothing. Nothing at all.

If there was anything he had learnt about the teen in the recent days, it was that Kuroko Tetsuya was truly a dull person whose life simply revolved around two things: basketball and his dog.

Leaning his head back against the cool wall, Haizaki scowled. His eyes stared back at dark curtain drawn windows, the window which he had identified specifically to belong to Kuroko’s bedroom. As the streetlight casted a dark shadow onto the teen’s face, he could not help but let out a resided sigh.

With no results and a dry dead end, he hated to admit it but his gut may have been wrong this time. Perhaps he had truly gotten the wrong guy after all. Or maybe it had just been another name simply written on Kaguya’s desk, who knows? Kuroko Tetsuya could have been a much more common name than he thought.

‘Yeah,’ the more Haizaki began to think about it, the more he was slowly convinced that a weak pale little thing like Kuroko would never have anything to do with gangsters or drug lords. It was unimaginable. “Guess it’s time to toss in the towel.”

Pushing himself off the wall, Haizaki walked away. It was past midnight now, and his mother would kill him if he didn’t get back within the next hour. After all, he had an early start tomorrow when he had to put his elder brother into the ground.

From a distance, a curtain drew open as teal blue orbs peaked through the gap. As its gaze followed the back of the departing teen, a shadow of a smirk formed.

* * *

Settling himself down in his office chair, Kuroko could not help but feel a small sense of satisfaction knowing that he had dodged a bullet.

He knew that Haizaki would have eventually gotten impatient and give up in frustration from the lack of result, he had always been that way since middle school. It was nice to know that the dark-haired teen was still as predictable as ever.

As Kuroko settled into his desk, he was glad to see from his empty fax machine that his colleague had at least held up his end of the deal.

_Beep._

‘Spoke too soon.’

Kuroko drummed his pale fingers lightly against the surface of his desk as he waited for the complete sheet to come through. When it did, he picked it up as his eyes flickered across the details of the following target.

‘Oh.’

How convenient. It appears that his next mark was none other than the referee of Seirin’s next Interhigh game.

Leaning back in his chair, Kuroko let his mind wander. ‘Now how should I go about this?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Kuroko's fellow Reaper is a fellow basketball player, can you guess who it is?


	5. A Miscalculation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A careless, rushed mistake comes back to hit Kuroko, only this time. Much harder than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your patience!

They say that appearances can be deceiving.

**“What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you do what’s asked of you, huh?”**

_“I- I-‘m sorry,”_

The destructive sounds of plates crashing to the ground rang out loud and clear in the air.

**“Sorry this, sorry that, is that all you can seem to say anymore?”**

He was furious.

Looking down at the fallen woman he called his wife in disgust, the man let out a disgruntled sigh as he ran a hand through his aged hair. **“Tsk, you’re useless.”** His eyes swivelled over to his teenage daughter on the other side of the room, her quivering body in a seiza position as she bowed her head, lowly in fear. Her body trembled as she never once dared to look up at the man, she called father. **“You both are.”**

From a pulled seat at the Miyazaki family’s unscathed dining table, Kuroko sat as he observed a scene which he had come to learn was an incredibly common reoccurrence within the household.

The man in question was his current target: a professional basketball referee, one who was well respected and known in his chosen profession for being fair, and supposedly kind in the work place. Unfortunately, it appears that did not apply to the middle-aged man’s own family life because from what he’s seen over the past few days, the man was a textbook definition of a wife beater, a terrible father… and apparently now a cheater.

Glaring bright neon lights reflected off the surface of his pallid skin as he stared up judgementally at the flickering Western bar sign before him, his teal eyes dropping to peer in through the glass window as he watched his target greet a young woman. The man dropped a kiss upon her lips before he slipped himself into the seat beside her, immediately finding himself getting _cosy_.

Entering the establishment, Kuroko did a quick sweep of the room approaching the drinks bar as he dropped himself into a leather stool seat. His eyes finding itself locked back onto his target. If anybody had an issue with a dapperly dressed minor with a black bowler hat in the bar, they didn’t appear say it but that was most probably because they could not even see him.

Well, most couldn’t at least.

“Aren’t you a little bit too young to be in here?”

“Aren’t you a little too old to be hitting up college girls?”

There was a hint of a chuckle, “touché.”

His teal eyes barely acknowledged the presence of the black suited gentleman leaning against the bar beside him, his matching black bowler hat long forgotten as he had left it behind at a table for a little lady to watch over – his own hit of the night. “But I don’t exactly plan on taking her home tonight.” Remarked the man, a fellow Reaper on the prowl tonight.

As the Reaper’s eyes met with his young target’s, he sent her a flirtatious wink, grinning before turning back to the face the front of the bar. “What about you? If you don’t get your arse off that stool and over to that table there, I don’t think he’ll even think about taking you home tonight.” His red eyes trailed Kuroko’s line of sight.

“Amusing.” Replied Kuroko, dryly. “But I don’t believe that he will be going home tonight at all.”

The man nodded, easily understanding the underlying implications of his words. “I guess I could say the very same for that lovely, young lady.” Commented the Reaper, plainly. “So… scorned wife who wanted revenge on her cheating husband?” Inquired the man, curiously.

It was like a game to them at times – guessing their client’s motives against their own hits or those of other fellow Reapers. It was just something that helped passed the time, and provided them with a little amusement here and there.

Kuroko shook his head, “abused daughter who finally got fed up with her father.” Corrected the teen, entertaining the man’s query. “What about your target? Best friend found out she slept with her boyfriend?”

The man chuckled. “Nope. Elder sister found out that the baby she helped surrogate carry was conceived naturally when she seduced her husband behind her back and not through medical means.” Answered the man, bluntly. “The human world has become rather immoral lately.”

“Humanity has always been immoral, human society has just given up on hiding it.” Stated Kuroko, simply.

His fellow Reaper could not deny that. He opened his mouth to respond, but found himself cut off by the appearance of a new voice.

“What can I get for you, Sir?” asked the bartender, coming over from across the other side as he stood across the smartly suited man, finally free to take his order. He had noticed him waiting for a while.

He held up two fingers and smiled, “two Bloody Marys please.”

Nodding, the bartender moved away to make his drinks, but not before sending the odd man one last sceptical look. The man could have sworn that he heard him talking to somebody just now.

Smirking, he rested an arm beneath his chin, his face tilted away from Kuroko as he spoke. “Have you heard? Apparently, someone’s been keeping tabs on us, and our _little activities_.” If Kuroko was surprised, his face did not show it. His mask of impassiveness never once flinched. “Word has it, it’s either a former client or someone from within the organisation…”

“And you think I would do it?” Questioned Kuroko, sharply.

The man shrugged, “who knows what to think anymore.”

Just as he finished his words, the bartender came over, placing down the two alcoholic drinks in front of him as the man smiled, appreciatively. He slid the man one too many yen bills, an amount that was way more than enough to cover the fee of the two drinks though the bartender didn’t complain, accepting the amount given with ease before he moved on to the next customer along the bar. But not before muttering beneath his breath, “weirdo.”

A comment that did not go unheard to the two Reapers, with the corner of Kuroko’s lips tilting ever so slightly in amusement (not that it changed his overall expression very much).

“Well, I think you better get that drink over to her now before she runs away from you because you appear to be talking to thin air, and nobody likes a creep.” Advised the teal haired teen, sending a pointed look back to the table where his acquaintance had left his date for the night to sit.

As he picked up the two drinks in his hands, he sent a directive nod back to the table where Miyazaki was. “Yes, I think so too. And I think you should piss off as well since your mark’s just got up to go take a piss himself.”

And indeed, he had.

The elder man had excused himself from his company, getting up as he made his way to the establishment’s toilet, thereby providing Kuroko with the opportunity he had been waiting for. He bolted out of his seat and tailed him, quickly entering into the men’s bathroom after him.

“W – what?” The older man whipped his head around, confused for a moment. He thought he had felt a breeze of air brush past him, but as he looked around the lowly lit room, he felt ridiculous because he was all alone. Shaking his head, he laughed to himself as he made his way into the nearest cubicle. “Ahaha, must have had one too make drinks tonight.”

_“Then maybe you should go to sleep then, Mr. Miyazaki.”_

Chills imminently pierced the back of his spine as the hands that reached for his belt froze, he moved to turn around but it was all too late. 

“ – !”

The force of a bullet pierced quickly through the back of his skull, entering from his occipital and exiting through his frontal bone; an action that ended his life immediately as the man’s body crumpled to the ground.

Light blue eyes gleamed from beneath the shadow of his face as Kuroko stared down at the dead body before him, the man’s leg was sticking out of the cubicle and in plain view. Nothing that he couldn’t fix. With a few nudges from his leather soled shoes, the teen managed to roll the man’s body fully into the bathroom cubicle before entering himself and locking the door from the inside.

With one last glance, Kuroko dug into his blazer pockets as he grabbed his smartphone, keying in his office details, ready to leave the vicinity once and for all.

“May you never rest in peace.”

* * *

They say that the hardest part is never the burial, but the process that comes after.

He couldn’t have agreed more as he found himself sitting in the living room of the relatively desolate place of where his brother used to live. It wasn’t all that great of a place to live in, but hey, it was a place over Shou-ni’s head that he could call home. And now, every little thing (the things that could reasonably be packed at least) of what the man had owned was now all packed up in little cardboard boxes to go who-knows-where actually… it’s not like his parents would want Shou’s stuff in their home, many that had links to his unsavoury criminal activities.

As his dark grey eyes did a sweep of the boxes, pausing at the sides that were labelled poorly in black marker; he could not help but have a small inkling that it had been his brother’s underlings who had helped out to pack the dead man’s belongings because there was certainly no way it would be his mother. No, the woman did the funeral and burial, but that was about all she was emotionally strong enough to do. Perhaps this was their way of saying farewell since they didn’t dare show up at the funeral. A wise choice on their end.

As he circled the boxes, a sudden label caught his eye.

‘CCTV recordings and images.’

His hands reached for the box, ripping away at the brown tape that sealed the box. He opened it to reveal a collection of disks, each with a date and the camera’s location written on its cover. “Holy shit,” whispered Haizaki, coming to a sudden realisation as his hands immediately dug deeper into the box.

‘That’s right, there’s a camera planted right outside the front door.’

If he was correct, he might have just found his golden ticket to the truth. He might have caught the killer on tape.

‘Here it is.’

He dropped the box aside as he stared at the item in his hand, checking the date once more, and the location of the camera. Satisfied, he searched around for his brother’s CD player and television, two items that he was grateful had yet to been packed. He fished for the remote, finding it in another box.

With the remote in his hand, he played the disk.

Static screeches filled the air for the first few seconds, but slowly the footage began to play, rolling to reveal a dark, relatively empty front porch. From the timestamp indicated at the bottom of the screen, he could see that most of these recordings started their day from one midnight to the next. In his mind, he recalled the coroner’s report about his brother’s death – a gunshot wound to the head, approximately at a distance of less than a meter away from him. Time of death, a little after sundown…

He quickened the tape, pushing it onto its maximum speed until he noticed the first signs of daylight fading. Slowing down the speed, his eyes narrowed as he searched for any indications of a person… but there was none. Nobody ever came.

It was baffling, a cruel trick of fate that he would stumble upon his tape only to find nothing. No matter how slow, or how many times he re-watched it… he couldn’t find anything. Instead, he only got see his brother continually die. Cruelly he might add; with his body flying back to the ground all too quickly without a single person in sight. He must have been gunned down out of view.

‘Less than a meter my arse.’

Haizaki replayed the video once more, and paused it at the second his brother had opened the door in full view. The last clear image he had of his brother, one without a gapping bullet hole embedded deep in his forehead at least. As the teen was about to call it a night, a sudden hint of teal caught the corner of his eye.

‘What the – ‘

From the gap over his brother’s shoulder in the doorframe, the glass table of his living room could be seen in clear view. On it, a single glass cup, the blurred image of his brother’s figure was reflected… but he wasn’t alone.

As the teen leaned in further to take a closer look of the mirrored image, he felt his blood boil through the roof. He knew that face.

“That son of a bitch!”

He knew it very well.

* * *

This time, he would not get away. Especially not when he had undisputable proof that placed him at the scene of the crime the night his brother died.

As Haizaki climbed up the stairs of the basketball stadium, his ears could not help but twitch as it picked up on the eerie silence that settled in the atmosphere. A rather stark contrast to the usual loud noises of cheers and chants that would normally be heard during a match. And he soon discovered why.

‘What the hell!?’

Much to his surprise, the entire arena was empty with not a single basketball or player in sight. He was sure that he had gotten the time and date correct. By right, Seirin and Touo should be having their Interhigh match right now! Kuroko and his team should be playing against that damned Aomine and Momoi… yet, that was not the case.

Haizaki leaned over the railing, shouting as he did.

“Hey Mister!”

The older man in a janitor uniform turned, a mop in his hands as he stared back at the youngster before frowning. “Tch, kids these days,” grumbled the man, disgruntledly. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you any manners?”

His question was blatantly ignored.

“What happened to the match with Seirin and Touo?” asked Haizaki, impatiently.

A look of confusion crossed the older man’s face for a moment. “Seirin and… _oh_ , that match!” He exclaimed in realisation. “Their scheduled referee never showed up for the briefing this morning, apparently nobody could reach him so the executives had no choice but to rearrange it for an earlier time slot since the only referee that was free today was the one who was supposed to be overseeing their neighbouring match on the other court. All the matches of the day had to be rescheduled into an earlier time slot. Luckily for us though, all the teams were already here on standby.”

“When did their match end?”

The man stared back at the time displayed on the clock hanging behind him, “hours ago, kid. You should have checked the website; the changes were announced this morning.”

His hands gripped the railings, tightly. “Do you know where Seirin went?”

“Seirin? Oh, they already left after they lose their match with Touo.” Replied the man, remembering their devastating loss against their opponents. Even with their ace missing, the team itself held up pretty well against their opponent. “Don’t know where they went but things got pretty heated on their side, whew.” He recalled seeing Seirin’s red headed player with another guy outside during their break, it wasn’t a nice sight to see between teammates.

The sounds of fists slamming against the railings echoed throughout the place, shocking the man out of his thoughts.

“Damn it!” Roared Haizaki, turning on the back of his heels, cursing his bad luck.

The janitor watched him go, a scowl settling onto his lips. “What, no thank you?” Muttered the man, mildly annoyed before he shook his head, soon resuming his mopping. “Youngsters these days.”

As he exited the facility, he made a beeline straight to Kuroko’s house. If he was home right now, great – he’d get to beat him up there and then. If he wasn’t, he’d just have to wait for him to come home and then beat him up, preferably at a distance away from his house in case his family spotted them and called the cops on him. And he wasn’t going to stand to let another god damn police officer interrupt him this time, not again.

“Hey, it’s boss’s little bro.”

He recognised that voice, pausing in his stride to stare at the man who had called out to him.

‘What’s his name again?’

It escaped him every time… he just knew that the man worked for his brother, was his henchman, and they had a conversation just a few days ago about Kagura, but his name… it… It seriously didn’t matter to him right now.

“Move, I don’t have time for this.” Barked the teen, fiercely.

The man backed away, holding up his hands as a sign of surrender but then he saw the look in the younger man’s eyes. He’d seen that look before, many times in fact – it was a look that Shou often made when he came up with a solution, or discovered something that he could use to his advantage. He was willing to bet that his little bro worked the same way too. “Wait, you found something didn’t you?”

“Just a picture.” Answered Haizaki, curtly. Not willing to talk to the man any further.

Unfortunately, he was a pushy little fellow.

“Of the perp? Let me see!” exclaimed the man, fully blocking the teen’s path now, his hand out stretched in front of him. Haizaki sent an annoyed look at the man’s outstretched hand, and then to his face. “C’mon, I swear, I might recognise the guy. I know almost every face of every person that your brother worked and crossed paths with.”

He was doubtful, but maybe there was a slight chance that Kuroko was somehow involved in all the shadiness of the gang life. “I don’t think you would know him, but…” He dug his phone from his pocket, opening his gallery to the latest photograph he had snapped from the CCTV footage. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough that Kuroko’s miniscule face could somewhat be made out from it if you zoomed in close enough. His deadpanned eyes and their bright blue hues were unique, there was no way Haizaki would not be able to match that face after spending a good amount of his junior high days with the kid.

He passed the phone over to the man who took it from him excitedly. His brows furrowed as he got a closer look at the zoomed image, wait a minute…

“Woah, he kind of looks like Ghost boy.”

Haizaki was surprised, “’ghost boy’?”

‘What’s that? Kuroko’s secret gang name or something?’

The man passed him back the phone. “Yeah, the creepy kid who comes in and out of the itai hoteru downtown.” He explained. “Always crossed paths with him on my way home at night, always seen him leaving – maybe visiting some dead relative or something, but he’s been doing it for years now. Kind of makes you wonder if the funeral homes are all backed up or something.”

Haizaki frowned, that didn’t sound right. Kuroko’s lack of presence practically made him seem invisible to almost everybody, unless you actually focused on him and kept him in mind. And he doubted that the man in front of him knew the kid well enough to keep a lookout for him.

“You can see him?”

“Well, I bumped into him (quite literally) more than once outside of that place. Man, it never fails to give me the chills… you know, all those dead bodies resting in their little hotel rooms.” Said the man, his arms coming around to wrap itself around his body. Just the thought of it gave him the creeps.

Haizaki’s grey eyes narrowed, dangerously. There was a feeling in his gut right now, one that was telling him that he had found his jackpot, and if his gut instinct was correct right now, he knew exactly where he needed to go to get the jump on one Kuroko Tetsuya.

“Where?”

* * *

“Thank you for your services.”

He bowed, politely to the elder woman behind the front desk before turning to the entrance to leave.

It’s been a tough day for him.

He had really hoped that with working with Kagami he could have beaten Aomine, but unfortunately, he had underestimated how much more quickly the tanned teen’s skills had improved in the short amount of time that they had not seen each other. A miscalculation on his part. And don’t even get him started about the argument that happened with Kagami during that match, he had enough problems to deal with at the moment. Especially with the recent surging human attention on that Reaper exposing site.

RR (Reaper Resources) had done their best to take down any key human identity (his and several other identities) exposing information on the site for now, but have failed in finding the person behind the screen. As of current, all Reapers were alerted to be more vigilant now of their surroundings when working. No need to give the site more information than it already has…

Kuroko paused in his steps.

A sudden chill dawned upon him; his senses sharpened – something wasn’t right. Whatever it was, he had no time to think before a piercing force came down hard on the top of his head.

A gasp escaped his lips as his body flew forward, crashing down on the ground; he had no time to react as a tight grip locked itself on his ankles. Kuroko let out a groan of pain as he could feel droplets of blood dribble down his face. As much as he was concerned with the wound at hand, it looked like he had other issues to worry about first as his assailant appears to have dragged him into the nearest alleyway behind the itai hoteru. Most likely to keep them out of sight for whatever was about to happen.

He felt his feet drop and moved to quickly crawl away – he wasn’t fast enough, he was delivered a fast blow to his stomach, one that incapacitated him for the moment.

“Bet you think you really got away with it for a moment huh? You fucking asshole!” An overly familiar voice yelled at him, one that he has been hearing much too much of lately.

‘Haizaki?’

“Did you really think you were off the hook? Well, you were wrong.” He could see him more clearly now, making him out from under the dim back alley lighting. It also helped that the teen had crouched down beside him, grabbing his teal hair as he did, forcing him to look at the incriminating image on his phone. One that explained for itself why the teen was here. “You didn’t clean up as well as you thought you did, Kuroko.” He told him, smugly. “And I’m really not stupid enough to go up to the cops with this, even I know that it’s not enough evidence to book your arse for homicide, so instead… I’ve decided that I’m going make your life a living hell from now on.”

Haizaki slipped his phone back into his pocket, the atmosphere around him changing immensely. All that smugness and light headed humour was gone, replaced by a suffocating air of hostility and anger. The teen picked up a stick of wood from the ground, a broken part of a plank, probably the same damned item that had struck the first blow across his head.

From the dangerous look in his eyes as he stared down at him, Kuroko braced for the worst.

Haizaki lifted the stick above his head before he let it swing, and then it begun – a brutal beating that left no inch of the smaller teen’s body unharmed. He was a merciless brute. “I’m going to beat you so bad that you wish that you were dead instead, Kuroko Tetsuya… and when you recover and heal from the beating that I’m giving you now, I’m going come back out, and give you another one.”

The sounds of a loud beating echoed through the alley way, as the metallic scent of blood whiffed through the air. But Haizaki was undeterred to stop, determined that he should continue with carrying out Kuroko’s punishment.

However, the sudden drip of a raindrop on the teen’s left shoulder made him pause, as he looked up at the night sky that was now starting to drizzle, rapidly. Suddenly, it came down much faster and quicker now. Haizaki clicked his tongue in annoyance at the rain that began to pour down harder. Nevertheless, he was satisfied with the amount of damage he had done, tossing the stick aside to the ground.

Crouching down, he grabbed Kuroko’s bloodied head by his hair, bringing his face closer to his as he spoke, “and I’m going to keep doing this until the day I die. Or you. Whichever one of us kicks the bucket first.”

Kuroko didn’t respond, he was barely holding on to his consciousness at this point but Haizaki was content when he sees those flickering haunting teal blue eyes at least stare back at him. An acknowledgement, a sort of silent sign that his message at least got through to him. Pleased, he released his grip on the other teen’s bloodstained hair as he got to his feet. He was done now, and he felt good about it. With one last glance over his shoulder, Haizaki took his leave, deciding that he should head on home before the rain gets heavier than it already is.

As he walked away from the scene of his crime, he never once thought back about the blue haired teen he had left behind, or about what would happen to him now – he simply did not care. He would leave the pale teen for somebody else to find, maybe they would even bring him to a hospital, who knows really.

‘But he got what he deserved.’

‘It hurts…’

Kuroko felt like he was drowning.

The rhythmic feeling of rain heavily drumming against the surface of his soaked clothes weighed down on him as he sprawled onto his back. He struggled to fully open his swelling eyes, and it wasn’t just from the rain. Haizaki had dealt a few hits to his face but at least he was able to somewhat still see that the teen had gone.

Good, at least now he could have some time to himself to think. Closing his eyes, he recalled the piece of damning evidence.

‘That photo.’

What a mess.

Just when he was able to figure out a way out of one situation, he quickly finds himself right in the damn middle of another one, and worse – it was an even stickier situation than the first.

The reflection of a glass of water – the minor, yet fatal detail that did him in. He had failed to notice it completely at the time, but he had been in a rush, one to quickly get the job done. And in his quick flurry, he had neglected to check his surroundings properly before he left, now landing him in the vengeful path of a heaping mess that was called Haizaki Shougo. A living, breathing pest that just so happened to be an acquainted with the human, Kuroko Tetsuya.

As his mind wandered through his train of thoughts, he was suddenly struck by an abrupt sense of dryness over his face. Kuroko opened his eyes.

“How’s the weather from down there?” asked an all too familiar face, cheerfully.

“Peachy.”

His companion laughed, turning his head to glance up at the sky, “really? I’d imagined that it feels a little cooling considering the downpour.” He gazed back down to Kuroko, looking over the damage on his frail little body. “Quite a beating you took.” Noted the teen, nonchalantly. “I’d reckon you’ll take a much longer this time to heal than before.” He just didn’t understand the teal haired Reaper at times. “Seriously though, you should have just killed him. It would have been so much easier that way.”

“… I need to gather my thoughts for a while,” said Kuroko, shutting his eyes once more as he proceeds to ignore his fellow Reaper. He was appreciative of his companion for doing his share of work when he could not, and even for the umbrella in this cold, spitting rain… but sometimes, he just wanted some silence to think.

But unfortunately…

The sound of a pop echoed in the air, derailing his train of thoughts once again as his blue orbs flew wide open.

“Why? Did he beat you so bad that your thoughts came flying out?”

Kuroko tsked beneath his breath. “No, but they’re currently being drowned out by an annoying fool.”

He had the audacity to look affronted, “hey, I’m just an innocent passer-by who came across an injured body.”

“Well could this innocent passer-by then help assist this poor injured body to the nearest emergency room then?” requested Kuroko, politely as the teen sat up, holding out a hand for his acquaintance to take.

He took the teen’s pale hand, pulling him up to his feet as he spoke. “What? You going to feign injury? It’s not like that beating even hurts anymore.”

The bloodied teen took a glance at himself, as he said, “I don’t see why not. It’s not like we’ll be playing in the Interhigh anytime soon.” Kuroko thought he looked beat up enough to warrant at least a week’s stay at the hospital, a Reaper set-up one at least. It would be good enough front to keep Haizaki off his trail for a while, perhaps even long enough to figure out a way on how to ’legally’ get rid of him once and for all. One that wouldn’t go against his morals and patience as a Reaper, because dear Lord, that reckless child was truly pushing it.

“Should I princess carry you there? Or would you like me to carry you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes?” He held out his arms to Kuroko, urging the smaller teen to jump on.

Frowning in disapproval, Kuroko slapped them away from him, opting to walk himself to the hospital instead. They were all pushing it. There was only so much patience an entity like himself could have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I aim to finish this story by this year! Fingers crossed, I'm currently focusing on this story alongside two others at the moment. Considering that my online courses start up again soon, I will try to update this once a month. Only three chapters (including the epilogue) left!
> 
> Also, I think I left a pretty big clue in this chapter to the identity of Kuroko's fellow basketball playing Reaper.


	6. Dark Horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumours of a website that can help you get rid of all your problems spread amoungst the living, and suddenly humans think they're Gods, playing the familiar game called death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience.

At first, it starts like a whisper… beginning as nothing more than word on the streets.

“Hey, have you heard?”

A girl leaned forward in her seat, gesturing for her friends gathered around her desk to come closer. She smiled at them knowingly before whispering: _“There’s a website that you can go to, where it can link you to a form that you can send directly to a Shinigami to get rid of someone for you.”_

“What? No way! That’s just a stupid rumour going around lately.” Remarked one girl, waving it off disbelievingly.

“No, it’s true.” Said her friend, “I heard that if you fill in the form, you’ll get a direct call within an hour from a Reaper to confirm your request.”

Another raised her brow, “Reaper? Didn’t you say it was a Shinigami?”

The girl shrugged, “Reaper, Shinigami – they’re both kind of the same thing, aren’t they?” She didn’t see much of a difference between the two. They were both in essence, death after all.

“And then what?” asked one of her friends who had yet to have spoken until now, her eyes thoroughly intrigued.

Her friend smirked as she spoke, “the person that you want gone will end up dead in the next 24 hours.”

Silence.

“Woah, that’s actually pretty scary.” Replied her friend, admittingly. 

Another rolled her eyes, still unconvinced about it all. “No way. There’s no way that they would reap someone just because you asked for it. There’s got to be a price, or something?” She told them.

“Apparently it’s the price of your own soul, but that only happens like years later when you actually die.”

“It kind of reminds me of that Hell Girl website that went around years ago, but we all know that was fake. It’s probably not even true, probably another made up rumour.” Said the girl, still as doubtful as ever. Nevertheless, a smug grin formed on her lips as a thought crossed her mind. She leaned a little closer to her friends, whispering as she did. _“But if it means I’d get to live the rest of my life without having to see that bitch anymore, I’d be more than happy to sell my soul for a good cause.”_ Her eyes gazed to the back of the room, where the classroom social outcast sat, ostracised by her peers. _“Loser.”_

Her friends laughed at her cruel taunt.

“So true,” stated the first girl, the one who had started the talk to begin with. ‘Glad to know that we feel the same way, **_bitch_**.’

But then it begins to pick up… starting to sound more and more like reality.

“Hey, did you hear? About what happened to that girl from Shutoku?”

The guy turned to his friend, raising a brow as he did. “You mean that girl who died in the freak accident last night? Damn, that was scary.” At this point, who hadn’t heard about how she died?

His friend nodded, tucking his arms behind his head as they walked. “Yeah, but word has it that it wasn’t an accident.”

He paused in his footsteps, his throat feeling a little dry. “What do you mean?”

“Apparently she was known for being a bit of a bully.” Answered his friend, stopping his tracks as well.

He felt a lump in his throat now. “You think someone set her up?” He asked, feeling a little bit on edge.

His friend met his gaze. “Remember that really weird website that started posting about the existence of Reapers and all that conspiracy stuff?” The guy nodded in response, recalling the server. “Word has it that someone must have used the link on the site to submit a form to get her offed.”

He let out a sigh of relief before he scoffed. “Hah, no way. That’s not possible, it’s all made-up. Complete bullshit.” He told him.

‘That’s what I thought too, if I hadn’t got a call last night after sending a form in about you.’

And then it gets worse, because it finally does become your **reality**.

He scrambled back against the wall; his tearful eyes full of fear as he stared down the barrel of a gun pointed right at him. “Wait, no, p – please!” Pleaded the teen, desperately. “I’ll do anything! Anythi – argh!” He never got to finish.

They would not let him.

The black suited man before him dropped his arm, his eyes falling to the bullet wound embedded deep into the temple of his forehead – a certain instant kill. There was no way he was coming back to life any time soon. “And that’s hit number four for the night.” Remarked the man, pulling up a small black book from his blazer pocket, ticking away at his hit list for the night. “How are you holding up on your end? Did you get the girl?” He asked, glancing back to his partner.

The woman turned back to him, giving him a silent thumbs up in response. From the pool of blood by her feet, it appears that his companion had taken the messier route of the two, but it was bound to happen considering how much of a struggle the girl looked like she was going to put up.

“Man, kids these days…” He remarked, tiredly. “Don’t they realise that death isn’t a game?” Sighed the man, staring between the two they had offed – they couldn’t have been older than seventeen.

“That’s not up for us to decide.” Replied his fellow Reaper, her eyes cold. Completely unattached from the living world. Whether they lived or died, it did not matter to her. “At the end of the day, they’re the ones that decided to sell their soul out in the first place, we just do our jobs to collect.” 

* * *

He watched the orange ball drop to the ground, bouncing against the ground’s reflective surface before it eventually stilled. His throat felt dry.

“Why did you do that?”

His ‘teammate’, Haizaki scoffed at him, relishing the look of mortification that had crossed the teen’s face the moment he had realised exactly just what he had done. “Why did I do what? Steal your damn technique?” He laughed mockingly at his face, enjoying the expression of anger that was starting to take over the other teen, just like they all did when he stole their stupid speciality moves. “It wasn’t even that great to begin with, in fact – it actually kind of sucks. But I guess I just did it because pissed me off.” He told him, approaching the guy, in a move to rile him up even more.

His teammate’s hands clenched tightly, balling up into fist as it shook.

Something that did not go missed in the Haizaki’s eyes. “Why? You wanna punch my face? Going to cry about how you have nothing left, you fucking one trick pony.” At this point, Haizaki was right in his teammates’ face, taunting him with his every word as he smirked. Because he knew that the other guy couldn’t do anything about it, none of them could. He was just too valuable of an asset to the team; and he knew that Coach had his back, no matter what kind of shit he pulled.

They all did. 

“Calm down,” a large hand came around and placed itself on the other teen’s shoulder. Hideki Ishida, the captain of Fukada Sogo Academy’s basketball team gently pushed the two aside, finally deciding to intervene before things escalated further than they already had.

Haizaki tsked, slapping the older teen’s hand away from him. ‘Buzz kill.’ He turned away; his mood soured from the intervention.

Hideki said nothing, instead, he regrettably turned to the teen by his side. The brunette third year was a man with morals, one who highly valued sportsmanship so it was a given that he did not feel comfortable having Haizaki on the line-up, but it was not his decision to make. After learning that the troublemaking teen had originally been a part of the Teikou basketball’s line-up during his junior high days, Coach did not hesitate to make him the team’s ace, and unfortunately replacing their original small forward player. A teen who actually worked hard.

Now, he had the skills to back up his worth, but aside from that… Haizaki was nothing more than a headache to deal with, choosing to rarely attend practices and often slacking off when it came down to it. It didn’t help that he wasn’t exactly a team player himself, despite basketball very much being a team sport, and especially loved to pick fights with other members of the first string when he did bother to come to practice. Even more so when he basically stole their individual techniques, something that they were proud of, but now could no longer do any more.

“Go cool off, we’ll handle this.” Said Hideki, glancing over to the exit. He knew how the teen was feeling, but he did not feel that it was in his best interest right now for him to be in the same place as Haizaki. Hideki understood that he needed to get some space, which would allow him the chance to at least clear his head.

Something which the other teen understood.

“Yeah, go run back to your mommy like the wimp you are.” Called out Haizaki, snickering as he did.

He made a move to step forward, but a light squeeze on his shoulder made him stop as he stared back at Hideki’s face. An apologetic expression on his face, it was clear that the older brunette regretted that he could not do more for him. “We’ll see you in the next practice then.” He nodded, and then he left.

As he walked out of the gym, he could not help but despise the looks of pity sent his way from the other members of the first string.

‘Damn you, Haizaki!’

He could have stolen anyone else’s technique in that whole gym, but in the end, he had gone and chosen him. And now, he was at a disadvantage. It was no secret that once your technique was pinched by the bastard, the original player would no longer be able to use it anymore. A tragedy to normal people like him, who had actually spent the time and effort training just to get into the first-string team… only for him to now be casted aside from the potential next season line-up because he was practically useless now.

Worthless.

And all because of an entitled little shit who thinks he can do anything he wanted just because he could have almost been a part of the Generation of Miracles.

But he wasn’t – and he didn’t understand why their coach was so hung up about him. The guy was just another freaking street thug. The only reason the academy even bothered to keep him around despite his piss poor grades and attendance was because of Coach’s recommendation. He hated it, he hated it so much.

_“Oh my god, have you heard about the latest victim?”_

‘What?’

He paused in his steps as he turned to see two members of the girl’s tennis squad pass by, gossiping as they did.

“You mean the star pitcher of Kiyama High’s baseball squad?” asked one.

The other nodded, “heard that he went missing,” she told her. “Word has it, that the Reaper got to him.”

‘Reaper? As in that spooky conspiracy website that’s was going around?’

Even he had heard about the infamous website by now.

The other girl covered her mouth, but she didn’t look sad in the slightest. “Oh god, what did he do to get offed then?”

“Apparently he pissed off one of his teammates by secretly stealing their girl, so the guy decided to get rid of him,” answered her friend, “once and for all.”

‘Once and for all…’

You know what, he liked the sound of that actually.

And that was exactly how the young man had found himself staring at his computer late into the night.

The website itself had not been too difficult to find considering that it was being shared on his social media pages. Once he had entered the website, he did take a moment to scroll through the pages, reading various first-hand accounts from people who claimed to have ordered a ‘hit’, as they called it – he had even found the one the tennis girls had been talking about, the star pitcher from Kiyama High. Nevertheless, he could not help but still feel a little bit doubtful about the validity of these accounts by the time he had stumbled across the form.

Would it work? Would he really be able to get rid of his problem once and for all? Even with Haizaki out of the picture, it didn’t mean that he’d automatically find himself in the team’s main line-up right away. No, there were other first-string members who had more potential than him… but perhaps if his technique hadn’t been plundered away from him in the first place, he could have had the chance to be considered like them. And the mere thought of it made him see red all over again.

With a renewed determination, he did not hesitate to fill out the form, most of it being basic information such as: your name, date of birth and phone number. Why they asked for it, it didn’t really cross his mind. As it came to the part when they asked him to name his target, he did not hesitate to type out: ‘Haizaki Shougo’, immediately making the move to submit to form.

However, before it was sent through, a small pop-up box appeared.

One that asked him if he _really_ wanted to send it in, detailing the price of his soul that would be collected in due time to come when his time was up.

And that actually made him think for a while… did he actually hate Haizaki that much that he would be willing to give up his soul to rot in Hell with him? After what happened today…

‘Yes, he did.’

And so, he submitted it.

The screen of his laptop flickering black for one brief moment before it resumed its original state as another pop-up box appeared, one that stated: _‘Thank you, we’ll see **you** in **Hell**.’_

Shutting his laptop close, he leaned back in his seat and reflected on what he had just done.

He didn’t feel remorseful in the slightest, not even a little bit. He’s heard about the trouble Haizaki had gotten into, beating up other basketball players from other schools – like that kid from Seirin, for no reason at times. In a way, he considered himself a good guy, doing the world a favour by getting rid of him. At least that way, he wouldn’t be able to terrorise and steal from other players any longer.

‘They’ll contact me in the next hour or something like that, was it?’

He glanced back at his handphone, waiting.

* * *

He heard his smartphone go off as it vibrated softly from the drawer inside his hospital bedside table. Pausing in his dinnertime meal, Kuroko pulled the drawer open and plucked out the black mobile device.

A message was displayed visibly on the screen: ‘We thought that you might have been waiting for this – RR.’

_Requested target: **Haizaki Shougo**._

Kuroko smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to update this story once a month. I might be a bit busy soon with my online classes and part-time work.


	7. Bittersweet Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haizaki finally gets what he deserves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you so much for waiting but the chapter is finally here! Karma has come and the identity of Kuroko's fellow Reaper is revealed at last!
> 
> I have recently uploaded this story as well on my Wattpad account too, which can be found here: https://www.wattpad.com/1020044679-reapers-chapter-1-hotline-death
> 
> However, it is not as up to date as the story is on Ao3 but I should have it sorted soon, so maybe give that version some love too if you have Wattpad.

With his hands stuffed into the pockets of his team’s red tracksuit bottoms, he trailed aimlessly after the members of Fukada Shogo Academy’s first string. Their Interhigh match had concluded well, everything had gone smoothly but that was expected considering that he played today. When up against no-named players like his opponents today, it was like taking a walk in the park. He didn’t even have to try.

“We all have something that we can work on,”

Haizaki rolled his eyes, partially listening in on Hideki’s conversation with their Coach as the older teen insisted that they have a team meeting tomorrow, in order to reflect on their match today. As if the dark-haired teen would even bother to show up, ‘I’ll pass.’ He had better things to do with his free time, and it has been quite a while since he’s spent time with a girl.

As the braided teen skimmed over a list of girls he could call up in his mind, he noticed a hint of bright blue from across the street. His thoughts came to a halt as he snapped his head over in the direction of the moving figure, ‘Well, I’ll be damned. Looks like it’s my lucky day.’

Looks like Kuroko Tetsuya had just gotten himself checked out from the hospital today.

Smirking, Haizaki turned to pursue the teen, his team already forgotten in his mind.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” A hand placed itself on his shoulder, stopping him from leaving.

Scowling, he forcefully shook Hideki’s hand off him. Ma, this guy was really starting to bug him. “What’s it to you?” Snapped back Haizaki, annoyed. “I did my job, I helped you guys win didn’t I?”

His eyes never left Kuroko’s trailing figure, focusing hard on the phantom player’s quickly blurring outline, knowing fully well that if he lost sight of him now, he would lose sight of him for good. It was just how his damned misdirection worked.

Hideki’s lips set into a firm line, displeased by the lack of respect the young player displayed at him. He opened his mouth to speak, most likely to reprimand him but was cut off by their Coach.

“Now, now,” said the older man, glancing over to Hideki, sending him an indicative look to just let it go. “I think we should all just go home now.” He told them, before turning back to their ace player. “You can leave, Haizaki-san.”

Haizaki scoffed. “As if I needed your permission to do so to begin with.”

Without a second to lose, he was off. His feet taking him to the direction of where his prey went.

His teammates watched him go, each in an array of disbelief at the teen’s blatant rudeness.

“I can’t believe he talked to Coach that way.”

Hideki frowned, turning to the older man. “Why do you keep letting him get away with it?” He asked him.

The man folded his arms across his chest, tiredly. He could understand the teen’s frustrations, but the man stood by what he believed in. No matter what others thought, Haizaki Shougo was Fukada Shogo Academy’s ace, a key asset to their team. They needed him so much more than he needed them, and in order to keep him, the man would have to turn a blind eye to a thing or two. Even though he, himself, didn’t like to.

“Beggars can’t be choosers, Hideki.”

* * *

He followed him, and soon Haizaki had found himself walking down an all-familiar road that led them towards the _itai hoteru._ The sleazy, little man had been right, it seems that Kuroko was a frequent visitor to the dark coloured building; entering through those classic black wooden doors.

Haizaki picked up his pace, following in after him to what appeared to be relatively fancy establishment… despite its grim guests. He scanned the lobby but found the teal haired teen gone, not a Kuroko in site. A scowled settled in before he stalked towards the front desk, where a young lady in a finely threaded kimono sat.

She stood up as he approached, bowing politely as she did. Her pale had folded neatly in front of her.

“Oi, that kid that came in before me, where did he go?” Demanded Haizaki, loudly.

Her eyes widened momentarily, before she replied him. “Oh, Room…” Her voice trailed off as she mumbled the last part softly, her eyes dropping down to the ground rather fearfully.

Haizaki narrowed his gaze into a glare, “What did you say?” Snapped the teen, fiercely. He had missed the last part of sentence due to her mumbling.

The young lady gulped, nervously.

“Room 404…”

‘Geez,’ He pulled away from the front desk annoyedly, making a start towards the elevators. ‘She could have said that from the start.’ He entered the lifts and pressed the button for the fourth floor as the doors closed. ‘404, 404, 404.’ He repeated the number in head, keeping it in mind as he entered his designated floor.

But he did not need to look to hard, because it seems like he had caught up to Kuroko, immediately catching sight of the teen as he entered through a door.

Haizaki speedily ran forth, reaching out a hand to grab ahold of the door before it shut close. A triumph smirk crossed his lips just as his hand managed to latch onto the door’s frame, ‘Got you now, Kuroko!’

He threw the door open, stepping in after the teen… only to fall into a dark abyss.

‘What the – ‘

Haizaki screamed as his entire body dipped forward, his feet never finding solid ground as the darkness below swallowed him whole.

But then his head shot up, abruptly as Haizaki let out a loud gasp. Beads of sweat dribbled down his forward as the teen glanced around, uncertainly. He was evidently confused by the events that had just happened.

“What the fuck?” Exclaimed the teen, breathlessly.

It was dark, his eyes squinted as the teen struggled to make out his surroundings.

“Where the hell am I?” He leaned forth in an attempt to move, only to discover that he had been tied down to a chair, a series of ropes wrapped around his arms, trapping him in place. As Haizaki struggled, a sudden candle in the distance lit up. ‘What the…’ Slowly, all around him, one by one, each candle lit one after another before he could finally see it – the funeral plaque that stood facing across him.

Resting upon a white coffin box, a wooden funeral plaque had been set up, the name engraved on it in clear, large strokes: Kuroko Tetsuya.

“What the hell is this!?” Shouted the enraged teen.

There was a chuckle from behind him. “Curious, aren’t you?”

Haizaki tried to turn his head to look, but found himself unable to. Instead, on his head, a pale slender hand clasped tightly onto his calvaria, holding it in place.

“How about we take a closer look?”

Suddenly they were moving forward, his chair sliding easily across the ground as Kuroko brought him forth to the coffin. As they did, the top of the coffin seemed to slowly slide open. He could not help but shudder from the chills that prickled down his spine as they edged closer, and closer to it. The scent of embalming fluid that radiated from the gap did not help to ease his anxiousness at all.

**“Why don’t you come a little closer then?”**

Before he knew it, a force had yanked him forth and Haizaki had found himself staring face to face with a very much long deceased, Kuroko Tetsuya. The teen screamed.

“What the fuck?” Yelled Haizaki, pulling back from the coffin. The teen dropped to the ground; the chair was gone but he had found his hands still tied together by a rope binding. Panting, the teen glanced towards his companion who stood watching him – one very alive and breathing, Kuroko Tetsuya. The familiar teen was wearing a black suit now, one that he could have sworn he had not been wearing when he first entered this establishment. ‘What kind of sick joke is this?’ His confusion was imminently replaced with rage, he felt as though he had been played. “What the hell is wrong with you?! Is this some kind of sick joke or something?” Roared Haizaki, furiously.

Kuroko titled his head aside, his expression as deadpanned as ever. “’Sick joke’?” Remarked the teen. “A sick joke you say,” Said Kuroko, “well no,” He told him. **_“This is very much not a sick joke.”_** ‘Kuroko’ laughed as he reached for his face, peeling off the mask that he wore.

From where he sat, Haizaki felt a wave of repulsion as the teen shut his eyes immediately, turning away. “Fuck!” He swore, feeling sick to the stomach. He had not needed to see that, but wait… ‘If that dead guy in the casket is the real Kuroko, then who the fuck is this? No…’ From what he just saw, a better question would be: “What are you…?”

He patted ‘his’ face back on comfortably, it had been a long time since he’s had to change human identities. “Me? Well, I am Kuroko Tetsuya, Haizaki-san.” Said the entity, who identified as Kuroko. “Only in flesh at least.” He glanced back over to the real Kuroko Tetsuya, deciding that it was time to put the boy back to rest as he resealed his coffin.

As Haizaki cautiously watched him do so, a sudden realisation hit him. ‘Wait, does that mean…’

As if reading his mind, he spoke.

“That I killed Kuroko Tetsuya?”

He didn’t dare squeak another word; his lips sealed shut as the beads of sweat dribbled down the back of his neck. From the way those blank teal orbs peered back at him, he already knew the answer to that question.

“Yes, I did.” Confirmed Kuroko, as Haizaki let out a breath of air that he hadn’t even realised he had been holding onto this entire time. He suspected it, but hearing it out in the open was a completely different story now. One that did little to ease his tensions. “But don’t be mistaken, I am the very Kuroko Tetsuya who went to Teikou with you.” He told him.

Haizaki’s eyes darted back to the coffin by his side, “Then…”

Kuroko’s eyes dropped to the deceased’s plaque. “This Kuroko Tetsuya met his demise a long time ago – a very, very long time ago. And at least (unlike your brother) … he was the unfortunate victim of a _little_ accident – a poor kid whom had been in the wrong place, at the wrong time.” Remarked the solemn teen. ‘And had seen something he should have never seen…’ “Personally, I’m quite attached to him.” Admitted Kuroko, honestly. ‘It was probably why I had worn his face and identity for so long.’ But sometimes he had to wonder to himself, was it the guilt?

“So, you did kill Shou-ni.” Said Haizaki, through gritted teeth.

Despite everything that has happened between them, no matter how hard he had beaten the smaller teen, Haizaki never did ever get a verbal confirmation from Kuroko about the deed. Till now, at least…

“Yes, I did – under the request of one also deceased, Kagura Shino.” Answered the light blue haired reaper.

‘Request?’ “So, you’re a fucking underground hitman or something?”

He tilted his head aside, “Something like that.” Said Kuroko, “tell me, have you heard about the site about Reapers?” He asked him, curiously.

‘Reapers?’ “You mean all those bullshit rumours that’s been going around lately? Isn’t that just a bunch of made up lies for attention or something?” Snarked back Haizaki, haughtily.

Kuroko chuckled, smiling to himself. “Oh, if only you could have wished that they were lies.” He told him, walking over to where Haizaki sat. “However, no, it’s very much true.” Answered Kuroko, crouching down in front of the other teen. “And believe or not, but I am not the type of person who would go after people out of pettiness… but for you, my old friend…” He smirked, “I believe that your time is up.”

His body wouldn’t move. Haizaki gulped, he felt as though he was swallowing a lump. Suddenly, he was very much aware of the implication behind those words.

“… you don’t mean,”

“You should have treated your teammates so much better, Haizaki.” Advised Kuroko, resting beneath his chin, amusedly. “Maybe if you had, you might have lived _just a little bit longer_ , and who knows, you may have been able to get a few more punch in here and there,” He told him before a ghost of a smile crossed his lips. “But no – I’m afraid the tables have _turned_.”

“Wai– “

_Snap._

And the tables really did turn.

Haizaki’s words were cut off, as the young man suddenly found himself falling, the ground beneath his vanishing as he dropped, as though it was never there to begin with.

With a groan, the teen landed back down onto something hard, yet cold. Blinking to himself, his eyes peered and flickered for a moment, adjusting to bright light that was shone down upon him. As he tried to sit up, he had found that he had been physically restrained, but not by ropes this time, by something else. Haizaki raised a brow, glancing around at the contraption he was tied down to.

‘An operating room?’ The idea was quickly dismissed the moment his dark eyes caught sight of the utensils lying on a small table by his side… ‘No, a torture chamber.” Now suddenly the panic settled in quickly as he squirmed in his spot, struggling against the belts that had him strapped down.

From a distance, the corner of his lips tilted upwards as he watched the teen’s futile attempts, ‘as if that would even do anything.’

Kuroko pulled on his black leather gloves as he came closer, the feeling of the material against his fair skin giving him a sense of satisfaction he had not felt for quite a while now. My, how long has it been since he has last been this hungry… for blood.

Smirking to himself, Kuroko sat himself down comfortably beside Haizaki, pulling his table of ‘utensils’ closer to him as he stretched his fingers out. “Now, I’m not one for needlessly drawing things out like this, but you have to understand, and I’m a bit ashamed to admit this but, I really, really am going to enjoy this.” Admitted Kuroko, he picked up his first tool, turning back to face Haizaki. “Consider it a taster of what is to come when you get to Hell.” He told him before a darkened expression crossed his eyes. **“Now, where should I start?”**

Haizaki couldn’t even scream.

* * *

‘And that’s that.’

Kuroko spared one last glance at the body bag before firmly closing the garbage container shut. Turning away, the teal haired teen could not help but find it ironic how only a week ago, Haizaki had left him for dead in the very same alleyway that Kuroko had just dumped him. But the teen didn’t seem to care, after all, it was probably the most ideal place to store a body without raising suspicion at all from the public.

The scent of decomposition was bad, really bad but nobody would find it out of place in the alleyway behind an _itai hotoru_. In a building where the dead rested, it was hardly unimaginable, and the matter would easily be overlooked. Not that anyone who actually bother to look considering who it was…

Removing his blood soaked, black leather gloves, Kuroko re-entered the establishment, sending a nod towards the manager whom had been so kind to let him use the back entrance, as if they had much of a choice to begin with.

“Will you be…” Began the older man, quietly.

Kuroko simply nodded, confirming the aged man’s suspicions.

“Very good, Sir.”

He bound the elevator, heading back upstairs, but not to the room that he always went to. Instead, the elevator moved past the fourth floor, never once stopping until it finally reached the top. As the doors slid open, Kuroko exited, turning sharply to the left as he made his way down the corridor of doors before stopping at the one at the end.

Pausing for a moment, Kuroko dug out the key to the room from his inner suit pocket before unlocking the door, and entering the room that he had always visited from time to time.

In it, the original Kuroko Tetsuya’s white casket had been returned to its original place.

He moved silently to the corner before he lit up an incense for the young boy, respectfully placing it down in the pot before his name plaque. With his hands folded in front of him, he remained quiet before finally speaking up.

“I’m sorry,” Said Kuroko, lowly. “I know that I’ve said it many times before, but I don’t really know what else to say to you other that.” He told him. “It seems that even in death I am still bothering you.” Admitted the Reaper, regretfully.

Of all the people he had ever killed in the entirety of his peculiar existence, this young boy would always be the one that he had the hardest letting go of. His death had been an accident, an unintended incident that could have possibly been avoided. Something that had haunted him time and time again.

He could never quite forget the night that Kuroko Tetsuya had died…

It had happened during a time in the past when mortality rates were high, and people dropped dead from left to right. During those times, you never really second guessed it when people went missing, making it so much easier to move around and exterminate them.

_With his katana drawn out, he gazed down briefly at the drunkard he had just offed. A single slice at his neck, quick and easy. The poor bastard never even saw him coming. From a distance, he heard the sound of a faint gasp, his eyes narrowed dangerously._

_A witness._

**_“Whose there?”_ ** _Demanded the Reaper, glancing directly at where he knew he could sense a human presence._

_There came no reply, instead, only the sounds of pattering footstep off in the distance – running._

_Not on his watch, within a matter of seconds he had chased the person down, coming up quickly from behind him as he extended his arm out, piercing the person with his sword from behind. The person never had a chance as he crumpled to the ground._

_It was just a kid._

_“Tch,” Remarked the Reaper, a waste of his energy. His dark eyes glazed over the boy’s dying form, he looked so frail… so pathetic. Why a child as delicate as him was even out in this time of the night, he would never know. ‘Humans…’ He moved to sheath his sword, getting ready to walk away from all this when he heard a soft gasp._

_“…p – please don’t take my money…” Whimpered the boy, freezing the Reaper in his tracks. He spared one glance down at a pair of dulling teal orbs, a unique colour amoungst the relatively dull population. “G – give it to my mother… please… p – please take care of her,” His eyes dropped to the bag attached to the boy’s side, his pale hand reaching out to pluck it. He coughed blood, struggling to hold on any longer but he was determined. “…she only has m – me…”_

_And with that, he took his last dying breath… his body soon falling limp. The bag of money in his palms._

_The Reaper gazed down at the child, not even feeling sad in the slightest, but he would admit that a part of him pitied him. The kid must have only been around fifteen years old. ‘A shame.’ He took the bag from the child’s hand, tossing it up in the air briefly as he contemplated whether or not he should deliver the human’s last dying wish. He would have to see._

_It was later during the night when another passer-by had stumbled across the bodies, screaming as they had. It did not take long for the police of that period to come, bringing a white cloth as they did to cover the bodies. From amoungst the crowd of spectators that remained, the Reaper watched the man in charge lift the cloth, his face paling._

_‘He knows the boy.’ Good, it made it easier for him, he would lead the Reaper back to his mother._

_And he did, arriving very shortly at what the Reaper understood to be the Kuroko residence as the man knocked on the front door. It soon slid open to reveal an aged woman, one whose features mirrored her dead son’s. They had greeted each other briefly, but it was not long before the man had to finally deliver the grim news to her._

_“Tetsuya is dead.”_

_The woman blinked for a moment before shaking her head back at him. “No, no…” She told him with a smile, one that was forced across her face. “No, he’s not.” Said the woman, confidently. “Tetsuya has simply gone out to work today, he’ll be back soon like he always does.” She laughed now, murmuring lowly to herself._

_‘Ah…’ The Reaper could see it now, the desperation in her eyes. The erratic disillusion that she held on so strongly to, her son truly was the only thing she had left. No wonder he had been so adament that somebody, anybody (even a stranger) would take care of her now that he had passed._

_“Madame…” Started the man, who had most likely expected this sort of reaction from the Kuroko matriarch._

_She shook her head harder now, grinning as she did. “He’s not dead! He wouldn’t just die like that!” Her voice was getting louder now, her hands came to clasp her face._

_The man tried to calm her, “Madame, please – “_

_“Get out! Get out of here!” Screamed the woman now, her loud cries attracting the attention of the neighbours and other family members who had come over to talk to her._

_“Please.” Emphasised the man, desperately._

_She still refused to accept it, sinking to her knees now, a man who must have been a distant Kuroko relative had clasped her arms up in an attempt to stop her from falling further. “He’s not dead.” Muttered the woman, pointing a pale finger at the man. She shook her head, speaking as she did. Her haunting teal eyes were glazed, staring off into a sort of distance in denial. “He’s not… he just went to work, like he always does.”_

_“Auntie!” The relatives that gathered around her called out to her, but the woman was gone, lost in the depths of her delusions._

_There was something about the scene that just struck a chord in the Reaper. Never once had he ever had to pause and think about the consequences of his actions, or about how the death of a single person would affect those around them. But seeing this… seeing how he had destroyed a family within seconds, and all because he had been careless and killed an innocent bystander – it didn’t feel right to him._

_So, the Reaper came to a decision that night, one that would change its existence for the rest of time to come._

_“Mother,” Said the Reaper, approaching the woman who was sat at the porch, staring out into the garden in daze._

_She turned and stared at him briefly, blinking before a smile broke out upon her lips. “Tetsuya…” Whispered the woman as she ushered for her son to come closer, he did as she embraced him in her arms. “Welcome home, Tetsuya.”_

_He moved his now pale arms around the frail woman, hugging her back as he did so. He nodded, “I’m home.”_

_He had taken Kuroko Tetsuya’s place, erasing memories and records of the boy’s death to the public, all whilst altering memories along the way. With every Kuroko generation that passes, he would slowly bend their memories, making it seem as though they’ve always had a son named Tetsuya to begin with. And he continued this, for many decades to come._

_And will continue to do this, for however long he saw fit._

* * *

It was a little later during the week when Kuroko finds himself alone in Seirin’s gym, practicing by himself. The reality of his human identity slipping in, as he was forced to come to terms with the fact that his basketball had lost to Aomine’s.

As the ball in his hand flew forward towards the hoop, he watched with blank eyes as it missed – of course it did.

The ball dropped before slowly rolling away, moving towards a brown-haired teen he had never seen before. This was how Kuroko met one Kiyoshi Teppei, a rarity of a kind hearted human in this bleak, selfish world. The former Seirin ace had introduced himself, and had even offered him a candy, one that he had bluntly denied.

It had happened later after that brief introduction when Kuroko had looked up the older teen on the human database out of pure curiosity. Upon reading his history, and the incidences with one Hanamiya Makoto, it was a wonder to the light blue haired teen why Kiyoshi had not once sought to seek revenge on the Kirisaki Daichii captain.

On the other hand, speaking of the topic of Kirisaki Daichii, there was still something that Kuroko had to deal with, or more specifically – someone.

* * *

“Hey, did you hear? That thug from Fukuda Shogo Academy is gone.”

“He’s missing?”

“Apparently he missed their match, and now the team’s out of the Interhigh.”

“Man, there’s no way they’re going to let him get away with that, no matter how much they value him.”

Upon hearing the news, a tall teen paused in his steps, his ear evidently perked up by the news that he had just heard.

Kuroko sat at Maji burger, a vanilla milkshake in hand as he stared blankly out the window.

A bag dropped down in the seat across him. “So, you finally offed him,” Said his company, sliding himself into the seat as he placed his tray of refreshments down in front of him.

“Without a single trace, and not a body to waste.” Deadpanned the teal headed teen.

The other teen scoffed, “As expected from a big hot shot like you.”

Kuroko’s blue orbs flickered away, staring back into the face of the fringed, purple haired teen warningly. “You’re playing a very dangerous game, Hara Kazuya.” He told him, plainly. “Your recent actions are unnecessary.”

“Oh, you caught on fast.” Said Hara in amusement. “Well, it worked, didn’t it? You got the hit you needed to kill a scumbag.” Reasoned the Reaper before digging into his meal.

Kuroko found it ironic, staring blankly back at him. “Funny considering what you and your Captain do.”

Hara chuckled. “Oh, you know how that old human saying goes, birds of the same feather flock together.” Stated the teen with a smile on his lips.

“And how long will that last?”

Hara shrugged. “Probably until I get bored or something. Don’t think people would mind too much if Hanamiya gets offed.” Admitted the teen.

Kuroko raised a light blue brow. “By you?” He inquired.

“By whoever.” Remarked Hara. After all, they couldn’t exactly control who RR gave them to reap. “But if anyone had to ask, I had dibs on him first.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember a review on one of the previous chapters asking me, why does he use his human identity name? And well, my answer to that is simple, because he simply doesn't exist anymore. The original Kuroko Tetsuya had already died a long time ago, but he took his identity, altering the memories around him (something that he can do very easily) to fit into each Kuroko generation family to come. Many Reapers do this, they take the identity of an already deceased human and stick with it, altering memories along the way. 
> 
> Anyway, only the epilogue is left but it is very, very small. It's just a small parting end, so look forward to that soon.


	8. The End?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long ride. 
> 
> This story now exists across three sites: Fanfiction.net (where it first began until I couldn't access it anymore), here Ao3 and now Wattpad. 
> 
> Thank you everybody who has been following this story, whether it was from six years ago (I believe...) from FF.net or recently, I'm so grateful for your support! I really appreciate it.

Tokyo, Japan – the safest city in the world.

Or at least it was supposed to be.

It was hard to say whether the city would keep its ranking with its unexpected rapidly increasing crime rate, mainly through the rise of sudden deaths and murders. The victims, mostly high schoolers. It seemed that the police were abruptly working around the clock now, more than ever with a multitude of random calls coming into the station to report the discovery of a new dead body. All that seemed to be related to the elusive ‘Reaper’ site, a server that has yet to be shut down no matter how hard they had tried.

Sipping away at his coffee, Detective Yamada dipped below the bright police tape as he approached the circle of forensic investigators. His partner, Mitsuda spotted him, ushering with a hand wave for the middle-aged man to come over.

“A garbage man had found the body when they were emptying out the bins. Apparently, they didn’t think much about the smell since…” Mitsuda gestured to the _itai hoteru_ behind them, Yamada nodded in understanding. “So, they moved it.”

“But then?”

“A dismembered foot fell out.”

And that’s when the man had freaked out and decided to call it in.

“And the victim’s ID?” Inquired Yamada, tiredly.

“We might have one.”

Sighing, Yamada took the final sip of his drink before passing it to Mitsuda to hold. It looks like it was finally time to get a closer look at the body. The man slipped his white gloves on as he stepped forth to the body. Forensics had already cut away at the black wrapping, reaching out, he pulling apart the cover at what he could only assume was supposed to be the victim’s head. As he did, Yamada flinched in repulsion from the smell of decomposition that hit him all too quickly. He turned away for a moment, gathering himself before looking back.

“Photo?” Asked Yamada as Mitsuda came over, holding his nose as he handed over a printed Student ID (his most recent picture) of their potential identification.

Glancing between the photograph of Haizaki Shougo, and the barely recognisable face, Yamada had to agree with the identification. It looked to be a strong enough match. “Yep, that looks like the missing kid.” He handed back the photograph to Mitsuda before turning to the nearest forensic investigator to him. “Run a set of prints for a match though.” He instructed. There was nothing wrong with making sure; they didn’t need another case of misidentification.

“We have no prints.”

Yamada paused before speaking, “DNA test then.” The forensic investigator nodded. Standing up, Yamada turned back to his partner. “Call the parents then. Or whoever, it was that reported him missing.” He told him.

“His coach.”

Yamada raised a brow, “Not his parents?”

Mitsuda shook his head, glancing down at the notebook in his hands. “They didn’t seem that surprised that he was missing… “ Said the young homicide detective. “Turns out his older brother was done in only a few weeks back too – drug dealer, Shou.”

“Ah, that bastard.” Remarked Yamada, bluntly.

He knew the guy, had come across him quite a few times during this career in narcs before getting transferred to the violent crimes and homicide unit, where he currently remains. The guy was genuinely a piece of shit. The little bastard had even sent him a Lawsons gift card when he got transferred, and all because their case against him fell through. Yamada was mildly glad that he hadn’t been assigned to the man’s murder case, but that was probably because the chief was aware of his personal feeling towards that specific victim. Murder or not, Yamada thought he had it coming.

“So, they think it’s gang related then?” He asked.

“Most likely,” Answered Mitsuda, honestly. “A number of people had reportedly seen the kid going around looking for Shou’s killer.”

“Only to end up dead himself.” Stated the older man. ‘Not surprising considering the number of enemies Shou had made during his lifetime.’ Nevertheless, Yamada still needed to make sure that he covered all of his leads. “So, he’s not related to all the other high schoolers turning up then?”

Mitsuda became quiet, something that Yamada immediately picked up on. “About that…” Started the detective before he passed over his phone to the man. On the screen, an all too familiar dark black paged forum, one that claimed to have seen Haizaki Shougo’s name on the Reaper site just before he had gone missing.

The older detective glanced at the number of comments, shares and theories that people have discussed within the forum. The last being posted only a mere two minutes ago.

“Great. This just makes things so much more complicated.”

* * *

“Haizaki’s body was found last night!” Exclaimed Koganei, suddenly bursting through the doors as he entered the school’s gymnasium.

His words made everybody within the vicinity freeze. It was big news. After all, everybody within the basketball circuit had heard about the teen’s sudden disappearance. It had cost Fukada Shogo Academy their game, automatically dropping them out of the Interhigh tournament.

Hyuuga turned to him in disbelief. “No way!” Replied the bespectacled teen, a basketball grasped between the palms of his hands in a shooting pose. However, he lowered them as all of his prior focus was immediately thrown out of the window. “Where did you hear that? The police haven’t even said anything about that yet.” He told him as the cat-like player came closer.

Koganei shook his head. “The police would never release something like that to the public.” Explained the dark-haired teen before continuing, all the members of the team now gathered around him. “But somebody that I know from junior high happens to go to Fukada Shogo Academy, and he had overheard their basketball team’s Coach talking on the phone with Haizaki’s parents while he was in the staff room. Turns out, the police called him last night to inform him that they had found a body and it was Haizaki’s.”

For a moment, nobody spoke as the reality sunk in.

“Damn…” Muttered Hyuuga beneath his breath. “So, the forums were true then… Haizaki did get offed by the Reaper.”

It was no surprise that the rumours had swept the halls of even Seirin, creating a buzz of excitement amoungst its students but also planting a seed of uncertainty within some friendships. After all, you’d never truly know if the person who you see as your friend, sees you the very same way back…

Standing idly to the side, Kuroko could not help but listen quietly to the conversation as it unfolded. The topic now shifted to a discussion of all the other victims of the website. He felt a prick at his neck, as he turned his head to meet a pair of contemplating red eyes.

“Yes, Kagami-kun?” Asked the blue haired teen, blankly.

Kagami paused, unsure whether to ask or not but eventually decided to do so. To ask that burning question at the back of his mind, whispering lowly as he did. “… you didn’t happen to, _you know_?” The red head still struggled to say it though, but his face said it all. ‘Send a hit for Haizaki.’

For a moment, silence enveloped the pair before Kuroko finally blinked, shaking his head as he did. Something that seemed to give the taller teen a sense of relief, “No. I didn’t.” Kuroko told him. ‘But that didn’t mean I didn’t kill him though.’ Turning away, the corner of his lips curled into the faint ghost of a smile.

* * *

Life goes on.

It didn’t take long before the buzz surrounding Haizaki’s case died down, after all, there were bigger things that they had to worry about in life. Like the many cases surrounding the involvement of ‘Reapers’, or a serial killer (as the police had openly convinced themselves of), it was soon forgotten, left in a pile of cold cases that were to remain unsolved until a break through.

If they would ever get one that was.

Life moved on, and so did his work.

Weaving carefully through a crowd of Japan’s finely dressed elites, Kuroko Tetsuya made his way towards the exit of the lavish party that his latest target was in attendance. Or at least, she had been for the first two hours before deciding to take a ‘swim’ to say the least in one of the estate’s many pools.

He did not know how long it would be before the body would be found, but considering that he had left every camera in the area linked in a never-ending loop, he was certain that he was good on time. Kuroko glanced briefly at the watch on his wrist, his teal eyes flickering once more around the room before they paused.

Suddenly, the teal haired teen stilled in his steps, coming to a stop as he met the gaze of an all too familiar red head across the room.

‘Figures that he’d be here.’

Kuroko was amused, yet not surprised by his appearance.

“Tetsuya.”

‘Akashi.’ He chuckled softly beneath his breath, the grip on his hat tightening as he brought it to his head. Kuroko smiled back at him, with a single mocking bow and small tilt of his black fedora, he was gone in a blink of an eye…

Vanishing into thin air, as if he never was there from the start… which to be fair was true – because he never did exist as human to begin with.

He was death, an entity, a faceless being… a somewhat elusive _existence._

****

**_The end?_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I say 'The end?', but it really is the end.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading.


End file.
